Lost and Found
by A Delusional Person
Summary: For Scootaloo, the day before the Sisterhooves Social ends up being pretty lonely and boring.  Something unexpected changes that day, and she is not the only one who may learn well about herself and everypony around her.
1. The Lonely Child and the Old Friend

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.**

**Notes: Against my better judgment, I'm putting this one up before it's finished. Hopefully, we'll reach the end together. I think this one has more potential than the others.**

**Hopefully, you'll agree…or have some good criticism!**

**Lost and Found**

**Chapter 1: The Lonely Child and the Old Friend**

Scootaloo rode alone the day before the Sisterhooves Social. She had wanted to talk Dash into attending with her, but it reminded her far too much of her only foal status and someone as cool as Rainbow Dash wouldn't want to be involved in something like that. So, instead, she spent her time around the playground. Snips and Snails weren't cool, but at least they didn't ask questions about her family and enjoyed playing games.

Still, those two ran off to do something stupid eventually.

Sighing, she headed back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' Clubhouse. Maybe her fellow Crusaders would finally be done with whatever they were doing by adventure or two before sunset with her best friends would make this day way easier. Stopping her scooter and leaving it next to a nearby tree, she glanced up at the clubhouse.

The front of the clubhouse had a huge hole in it and the roof had fallen in on even taking her helmet off, she ran up the ramp and kicked the door in.

Inside, she found most of the roof. She expected to find a huge rock or something, but the rubble was all she could see. Still in shock, she thought of what the rubble covered…

Everything in the clubhouse was under that rubble, smashed to pieces!

She started digging through the remnants of the roof, frantically searching for anything that could have been hers. Before she could get very far, her hooves ran across a white feathered head.

A moan greeted her as the rubble slid off of a brown body.

The monster groaned as it rose to its full height.

Scootaloo recoiled in shock. Even before it started stretching its wings, it was easily twice or three times her size.

It shook its head and focused its wide, golden eyes on the pony. Its frame quivered, and an agonized mare's voice passed its beak, "Help me!"

The pony froze, unsure what to do.

Wincing, the beast nearly fell to its knees, gasping, "I'm going to die! Ah! Ah! Damn this hurts!"

"I'll get help! Uh…don't die!" Scootaloo ran out quickly, unsure what to do. Who would know how to help some animal who was hurt?

Fluttershy!

She threw herself back on her scooter and rode off as fast as she could. It was all the way across town, but she rushed as fast as she could and barely skidded to a stop as she dumped the scooter and started knocking on the cottage door.

The door was opened by a yellow pegasus. She barely got out a 'hi' before she was cut off.

The helmeted little pony frantically explained the situation, "Fluttershy! This bird thing is hurt and I don't know what's wrong with it and I think it's going to die! Come on it's at the clubhouse!"

Without waiting, Scootaloo took off running, almost forgetting her scooter.

The only indication that Fluttershy was following were the soft cries of 'wait!' and 'slow down please!'.

Scootaloo ran up into the clubhouse and heard Fluttershy not far behind.

A screech pierced the air as they arrived.

"Oh…my."

The monster was laying on its side and, when it looked up, its eyes were full of tears. It coughed, a little bit of blood slipping from the edges of its beak. Its stomach was swollen and covered in scars. A deep cut ran down its rear leg…a rather fresh wound.

The orange pony stared on, unsure of what to do.

"Scootaloo, take my saddlebags, get what I tell you to." Nervous as she sounded, Fluttershy managed to speak her whole piece without stuttering.

Shaking, she carefully pulled the saddlebags off of the older mare.

"G-Gilda, I know you're in a lot of pain, but you're going to have to listen to me."

"Anythi-ing! Just make it STOOOOOOP!" She never sounded more like a pony than in that moment as she shrieked and wept.

"Okay. I'm going to need you to be on your front. Everything is going to be fine." Fluttershy braced herself near the griffon and helped her up, "Now, I'm going to need you to take a deep breath."

Gilda complied, taking a long breath until her form expanded a bit.

"Now, I'm going to need you to bear down like you're relieving yourself. Hold that for about ten seconds..."

The child had never heard quite as much screaming and cursing before as she did now. The process was brutal to watch despite the lack of movement. She couldn't even imagine just how much pain would make somepony howl and roar like that even when their voice grew hoarse. Every time she finished pushing and wasn't breathing, some pained noise passed her beak. The clean air of the treehouse was desecrated by the stench of urine and sweat.

She did not know how Fluttershy could stand it all, in the thick of it. At one point, her talons grasped the pony's leg and tightened! If the yellow healer had done anything but stand there and continue whispering her quiet reassurances, Scootaloo would have jumped in to help her out!

Despite it all, though, she remained silent and still. A horrifying curiosity stilled her limbs and drew her eyes to the agonized beast. So deep in her labor was she that she could not spare a glance towards the orange-furred child watching her so closely.

It must have gone on for an hour at the very least. Maybe two. The most Fluttershy asked her to get was a few cloths and some minty-smelling herb. Still, at long last, a howl louder than all the others pierced the air and Gilda collapsed.

The room stood silent for a moment as the fallen was examined in the light from the setting sun.

"Fluttershy, is she-?"

The pink-haired pegasus stopped for a second and smiled tiredly at the filly, "She's a mother…and she's going to be all right. Once I have these wounds bandaged, everything will be fine."

"A mother?" Scootaloo stared in awe, even as Fluttershy strode past her and got the bandages and salve out herself. The process was finished carefully, but with all due speed. She was a bit slower on her own wound, wincing as she rubbed the salve onto her foreleg where the talons had found purchase. Still, the bandages were easily enough secured around the injury and she was able to proceed. A few cloths, now soiled, were tossed aside. Finally, she moved a rather large egg out from behind her and set it down next to the unconscious creature. It was as big as her head, at least!

Her voice grew softer and less commanding as she saw the child's awe, "I was surprised, too, but when I saw it happening, I knew. I'm just glad it's over. She laid very quickly, but sometimes young griffons take hours or even a day or two."

The younger pony didn't really know what to say. She had never seen anything like this before.

"Okay. We can't move her like this, but…it's pretty warm out. If she lays near her egg and we keep an eye on her, everything should be fine until she wakes up."

Scootaloo just looked around, unsure what to say to pass the time, "Why would griffons have kids if it hurts that much?"

"I…well, um, you see." Fluttershy floundered with that one for a while, before quietly admitting that she wasn't sure.

Silence reigned over them for a long while, until they heard a voice outside that was unmistakable.

"When I was a little filly and the sun was going dooooooown!"

They both called out at the same time, "Pinkie Pie!"

Instantly, the song stopped and that magenta maned pony peeked in the doorway of the clubhouse, "Hey girls!"

The gasp that pierced the air was a relatively tame noise compared to the shouting from earlier. The pink partier dashed over to the griffon, "What happened to Gilda? Is she okay? She isn't dead is…she-"

Pinkie stared blankly a moment. The pieces fell into place and she smiled, starting to hop up and down, "What's a new mother doing in a place like this anyway?"

"Well, I'm not really sure, but-"

She went on as if Fluttershy hadn't answered, "Well, it doesn't really matter what she's doing here. We should take her back to Sugarcube Corner so she'll have an actual bed to sleep in."

"But, Pinkie Pie, won't Mr. and Mrs. Cake be bot-"Standing up on her hind legs, she shook her head, "Oh no! I'll let her stay in my room, and the Cakes won't be back until the end of the week. They won't even know Gilda was there. Even if they did, they'd understand after I explain the situation."

"But Pinkie-"

Finally, the helmeted filly spoke up, "We can't leave her here, anyway. This is our clubhouse and Applebloom and Sweetie Belle will freak out if they find a griffon here!"

Pinkie Pie laid a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder, nodding, "And she can't hatch an egg in here! What if it rains? She'll be much safer up at my place!"Fluttershy didn't seem very assured, but she did help move Gilda through the town. Scootaloo had to carry the egg and her medical supplies, so her scooter got left behind. She left the helmet with it, under the clubhouse. Unless something else fell out of the sky, everything would be safe under there.

It was good that the sun was going down. Very few ponies took notice of what they were moving and those that did notice didn't bother to stop them.

Finally, they situated themselves upstairs in the bakery. Pinkie's bed was large enough for the griffon to be laid comfortably next to her egg.

"Jeez, she reminds me of how I was when I had that ten party marathon back during the Maredi Graz Festival." Pinkie Pie remarked quietly, amused.

Scootaloo barely caught that comment, though.

"Pinkie Pie, what are we going to do now?"

"Dash and I were going to have a little sleepover, but now I guess it's going to be a big sleepover." That smile on her face didn't fade as she gestured towards the stairs, "The Cakes won't mind us using their bedroom as long as we clean up afterward, and with the four of us it'll be like a mini-party!"

Scootaloo saw that Fluttershy wanted to say something and stopped herself, but the filly's mind was far from that, "Rainbow Dash is coming here? Awesome!"

"But Pinkie Pie, after what happened with Gilda…"

"Don't you worry your pretty head about Gilda and Dash, your niece-y Pinkie Pie has it all taken care of!" Pinkie Pie explained sprang down the steps, taking each step one hop at a time.

Scootaloo stared a moment, a little confused about the family tree between the two. Fluttershy just met her gaze with equal parts befuddlement and worry. A knocking from downstairs brought an abrupt end to that moment. Racing down the stairs, she knew it would be Rainbow Dash before the door opened.

"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo exclaimed as her idol came into view. There was the smallest frown on her face.

The best young flier in all of Ponyville smiled to quickly cover the frown, "I didn't know Pinkie Pie was making this a big sleepover."

"Something came up, Dashie. Fluttershy's here too."

Rainbow Dash shook her head at her friend's explanation, "Good thing I brought extra pillows."

"Help me get the cupcakes! Fluttershy's waiting upstairs for us."

Fluttershy had remained in the hallway upstairs as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie carried the cupcakes up.

They situated themselves in the Cakes' bedroom. It was rather plain, with a bed even larger than Pinkie's, but it had more than enough pictures of family and friends. Aside from that and the wardrobe sitting in one corner of the room, it was practically empty: the ideal place for a Pinkie Pie slumber party.

Pinkie Pie set down the tray of cupcakes on the bed, "Been a while since I had a party in here, let alone a slumber party!"

Rainbow Dash situated herself comfortably on a pillow from her saddlebags as she set those aside, "Hey, Fluttershy, what happened to your leg?"

"Well, um, that bear I do massage for…got a little mad, but it's okay. He barely broke the skin." She explained rather quickly, looking away.

Silenced filled the air between the two, only broken by the sounds of Pinkie Pie chomping down a cupcake.

"Oh yeah, he's a fighter! I remember when Applejack had a little too much of the spiked cider and decided to try to rodeo him!" The other pegasus chuckled at the memory, He nearly put her through the whole barn when he tossed her off."

Scootaloo just watched, glad she didn't have to lie to Rainbow Dash. She occupied herself by setting up a spot near Rainbow Dash with one of the pillows from the Cakes' bed. She brought two of the cupcakes over.

She passed Rainbow Dash the vanilla one and kept the chocolate one for herself. Most would be insulted by that gesture, but the blue pony grinned as she softly licked some of the frosting off the top.

Pinkie Pie finished her third cupcake, already, giggling as she licked frosting from her lips, "So, maybe we can have a little Truth and Dare, girls?"

"Oh, I don't know-"

"Truth and Dare sounds pretty awesome!"

"Yeah, Truth and Dare!" Scootaloo had only heard about it in school, but if Fluttershy thought it was too exciting and Rainbow Dash thought it was awesome, then it had to be awesome!

"Okay, I'll go first." Pinkie Pie jumped to the center of the room with alarming speed, "Somepony dare me!"

"Okay, Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash looked her in the eye, suddenly serious, "I brought some of this along just for the occasion: I dare you to chug one of my Rainbow Sluggers!"

"Oooh, that's a toughie, Dashie!"

A small glass was produced, along with a vial of liquid rainbow and a bottle of orange-ish liquid. A drop of the rainbow was mixed carefully with the other liquid until the small glass was full.

Scootaloo watched the strange alchemy with a curiosity. She had heard of this, too, but she had never seen it before.

Pinkie Pie upended the glass quickly, downing it in one gulp. In a flash, her face started to turn all different colors. Her lips smashed together and she winced as her face emulated all the colors of the rainbow at least twice.

Finally, she let out a hard breath and grinned, "Easy!"

Scootaloo was impressed. The last time someone had slipped her some rainbow, she nearly threw up. Maybe that liquid she mixed it with made it less spicy?

The pink pony wobbled a little, smiling as she ran a hoof through her magenta mane, "Yeah! That feels good!"

"Okay, Scootalooooooo!" She drew out the last letters of her name into a long and high note, "Truth or dare?"

The child hesitated for a moment, but knew she couldn't take 'truth' while Rainbow Dash was here, "Dare me!"

"Okay! Simple one, since it's your first time playing: eat a cupcake while standing on your head!"

The others stared weirdly, but the challenge had been declared.

It was weird to eat upside down, but it was easily enough done…once she actually managed to get up on her head.

She fell down onto her pillow suddenly.

"Okay, Scootaloo, now you ask someone."

"Rainbow Dash, truth or dare?"

Her grin fell away and she answered softly, "Truth."

That was odd, but Scootaloo thought quickly, "How hard is it to do a Sonic Rainboom?"

Her bravado returned quickly at the softball of a question, "It's easy once you've practiced it. My turn."

Scootaloo watched as her eyes fell on Fluttershy, who winced, "Fluttershy, truth or dare! I remember last time we played you wussed out of a dare, so if you pick dare, you've got to do whatever I want you to!"

"Truth!" She cried, suddenly alarmed at how far in her face the other pegasus had gotten.

Rainbow Dash grew quite serious, "Tell me what's really going on. You lie worse than Applejack!"

"Um…well." Fluttershy stalled, looking at Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo for help.

Scootaloo looked at Rainbow Dash and saw just how grave that look was. She closed her mouth.

Pinkie Pie finally sighed, smiling sadly, "It's not Fluttershy's fault, Rainbow Dash. I asked her to lie, but it's something important."

"Important? What happened?"

"Remember a year ago? A year ago today, in fact?"

"…no?"

Pinkie Pie frowned for a moment, but her smile seemed determined to resurge, "Okay, come with me, everyone, we've got to show Dashie just what's going on…after Dashie promises that she'll be okay with it, because we did what we did for a good reason, okay?"

That grave look stayed on her face and she failed at sounding much calmer, "Sure. I promise."

They all gathered upstairs.

Nothing could have prepared Rainbow Dash for the sight."G-Gilda?" She approached the griffon, shaking a little, "What happened?"

Fluttershy sighed, "Rainbow Dash, I-I didn't mean not to tell you, but, I didn't know how you'd take it."

"What happened?" She insisted loudly. Her gaze turned toward Fluttershy, who winced and backed away.

Scootaloo was scared of her idol in that moment and stammered out a response as quickly as she could, "S-she just…she was just laying in our clubhouse! The roof fell in and when I found her, she just started screaming! I-I-I thought she was gonna die, Rainbow Dash! Then I brought Fluttershy back and…she…"

Her eyes went wide at the thought of what happened in the room. Her mouth tried to make the words, but all she did was stammer worthlessly.

Fluttershy took it up from there, "And Gilda…laid her egg. I bandaged her injury…and-"

"I couldn't just leave them there all night! She was too heavy to move for one pony by themselves, especially with the egg! Don't be mad, Dashie. She's going to be all right!"

Finally, Rainbow Dash sighed, "I…it's not about you guys. I just thought that Gilda would go back to Cloudsdale. I didn't think anything would happen…not like this."

Pinkie Pie smiled wide, looking around, "But she's a momma, Dash. That's not bad…is it?"

"Pinkie, I just can't believe Gilda would…"

"Do the Pony Pokey?" Offered the earth pony.

"Become a mom?" Added the younger Pegasus awkwardly.

Rainbow Dash sighed again, "I guess things change, after all."

"Rainbow Dash, you couldn't have helped that, it was just so sudden and she flew out so quickly…"

"And the party didn't go as planned." Pinkie nodded sadly.

"I could have gone after her…even if she had been a grade-A jerk to you guys." Rainbow Dash shook her head, "…I've got a lot to talk about with her in the morning. If you don't mind, I'm going to sleep up here."

Scootaloo wanted to stay, but Pinkie Pie ushered her out of the room. The orange pegasus gave in, but she did grab a couple of pillows for her. A quietly muttered thanks was the last she heard of her heroine that night…


	2. Have a Heart, Sister

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.**

**Notes: I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed and went on to Chapter 2. **

**Remember: Criticism is Magic!**

**Lost and Found**

**Chapter 2: Have a Heart, Sister**

Nopony really slept well that night. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie whispered worriedly throughout the night and they both occasionally made trips upstairs to check on the was left with her thoughts for a small eternity. With all the excitement around her, she couldn't sleep…and the one time she did fall asleep, the screams from Gilda's laying shocked her from her sleep. She saw those golden eyes so vividly wide with pain in the dream, as if she had stood next to her while the egg had been laid in Fluttershy's stead. Blood covered her hands as if she was bandaging a wound that poured crimson.

By the grace of Celestia, she didn't scream when she awoke; she just gasped and had to fight for her breath for an age and a half. She resolved to stay awake until she forgot that horrid vision, she thought of her home. She wondered if her mother and father had noticed she was gone. After all, with father's night job and mother still being in Canterlot…

She shook her head. That was a stupid thought to have. Even with the both of them around, they rarely seemed to notice when she decided to stay somewhere else. With just dad in town, there was no way he'd realize she was absent. Besides, they didn't have any time for her, so why should she have any time for them?

Even when they said things were good and were around, things always turned out badly. Even laying here staring at the ceiling was better than dealing with that family.

Satisfied with her conclusion, she shifted around. She just couldn't get comfortable, even on the Cakes' bed.

"Scootaloo." Fluttershy whispered to her at long last, "Do you want to go up with me and check on them? I need somepony to hold the candle for me…"

"Oh…okay." The filly stretched and got up, deciding staying awake would keep her mind off of Pie just watched them as she left, a smile forming on her face.

Finally, the grown-ups lit the candles in the room and were honest with themselves. Nopony was going to sleep well tonight, anyway…

Fluttershy floated softly above the steps as Scootaloo ascended slowly and softly.

The child hoped Rainbow Dash would be feeling better. She also hoped that Gilda would still be asleep. What if there was another egg in there that Fluttershy hadn't found?

Then that screeching would start again.

She shuddered at the thought as they passed into the upstairs.

Thankfully, Gilda was asleep. Dash laid on the floor, a pillow under her head and a sheet halfway covering her.

Fluttershy carefully walked over to her and Scootaloo carefully held the candle nearby.

The filly just stared, praying that Gilda wouldn't wake up right now. Any other time than now.

The examination took entirely too long, "It looks like she's fine…I don't feel anything off, and it seems like her wound is starting to heal. The endurance of griffons is outstanding."

Scootaloo just nodded and moved the candle away. Her eyes saw something glint in the darkness and she screamed before she could think twice. The candle went flying as she reared up in surprise!

It never landed. In a flash, Rainbow Dash held the candle in her hooves and its holder in her mouth. Both were set on the end table with care.

"Kid, what the hay was that?" Her face bore enough disdain for a hundred failures.

Scootaloo hung her head, turning to leave.

And then Gilda groaned and everything stopped for several moments. She began to rise and that set Fluttershy into motion.

"Please, Gilda, don't try to move. You're still hurt."

"I'll try anything I-" She coughed and her whole form shook. Some blood dripped from her beak and she fell to the bed on shaky legs. Wiping the blood, she scoffed, "This is so lame."

Scootaloo was surprised to hear her speak so softly. She expected her to speak more like Princess Luna had, to be truthful.

"I guess I'm not the only flip-flop, G." Rainbow Dash remarked from across the room, in a tone that made her earlier voice sound gentle.

"Dash, I…" Came the sorrowful beginning to a reply that never left Gilda's lips.

The pegasus and griffon stared at each other for such a long time. Neither the old friend nor the best young flier spoke.

Scootaloo stared, trying to understand what had happened before.

"Rainbow Dash, maybe…I was wrong." Gilda admitted with a pained sigh. However, her eyes caught a strange glint in the candle light and she stood suddenly, "But how could you just leave me like that? I was your friend for years! You barely knew Pinkie Pie for one month!"

That made the child wince away. It was almost as if the beast was roaring!

"I left you?" Rainbow Dash stomped up to the bed, staring right at her old friend, "You left, Gilda! I wanted you to stay!"

A growl rose in the griffon's throat, but her legs began to buckle beneath her. Despite how loudly she had shouted, she looked so weak.

The blue pony glared harder still, "After YOU had been such a jerk to all of MY friends, none of them told you to leave! You wouldn't be hurt if you hadn't left!"

"You…wouldn't be…like this!" She lashed out, sobbing.

The strike hit the bed near Gilda. The snarl building in her throat fell away as her friend crumpled onto the edge of the bed.

Gilda sunk to the bed, her breath trying to catch in her throat, "Dash…"

Slowly, those taloned legs reached forward to wrap around the crying pegasus. They both trembled against each other. Seeing her idol in such pain and acting so weak was something she just wasn't prepared for. To her, Rainbow Dash didn't have tears to cry or a situation she couldn't solve by being so unshakeable and swift!

For a moment, it wasn't a rainbow-maned pegasus and a griffon holding each other tight, it was a white pelted and crimson maned earth pony and an orange Pegasus stallion holding each other tight. They weren't on a bed, they were crying before a pristine grave.

_Rest in Peace_

_Scarlet_

_Our Dearest Daughter_

_May you know Eternal Peace._

Gasping, the child turned away from the sight before her. Whatever was real, she just couldn't face it. She needed to run until it was all gone!

She bumped right into Pinkie Pie.

Those blue eyes of hers stared right through Scootaloo. After a moment, a cheery smile turned to a sad one, "Silly filly…it's okay."

Scootaloo forced herself to smile, trying not to cry, "…yeah."

Pinkie Pie pulled her into a hug, whispering soothingly, "It's okay to cry, if you don't feel sad, you won't be able to enjoy the times when you're really happy…"

The orange filly didn't let herself cry, there was no reason to do that in front of Rainbow Dash.

However, she was let go quickly, "If you ever need to talk, I'm glad to listen."

With an impish smile, she hopped away from the youngest pegasus and headed towards the older pair.

Sneakily, Scootaloo wiped a couple of tears. She silently assured herself that as long as nopony saw, it didn't matter.

Gilda pulled away from Dash, glaring, "What do you want?"

Despite the glare, the pink pony didn't flinch or run away. The closest thing she did was stop hopping up and down and take on a more serious tone.

"I know we didn't get off to a good start last time, Gilda, especially with the party going so wrong," She frowned, "But you can stay here as long as you need to. My room is your room."

She sighed, staring at the pink pony. For a moment, it didn't seem like she would respond as she closed her golden eyes.

Another sigh passed her beak, and she finally opened her eyes, "If this is a trick, Stinkie…Pinkie Pie, I will make you regret it."

"It's not a trick! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Gilda stared at her a little longer before finally laying her head down, "Fine. It's not like I have a choice. Just leave me alone, I'm way too tired for all of this…and it feels like I've sat on a spike."

Fluttershy spoke up quietly, "Well, you just laid…it's perfectly natural for you to be in so much pain. But you'll heal quickly, it's nothing to worry about."

"Well, of course I-" Gilda froze. Suddenly, she stood up on the bed, and looked down at the egg next to her, her eyes went wide, "Just…laid."

Her golden eyes widened as she looked upon the gathered ponies. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at the egg again.

Dash giggled softly, wiping her eyes, "Never thought I'd see you speechless, Gilda."

"I…thought that was just a dream…" Gilda stopped for a moment and looked her friend right in the eye. That seriousness evaporated in a hearty chuckle, "Okay, Dash, this time, you caught me with clipped wings. Maybe when I'm up to flying again, I'll school you just like the old days!"

"Oh you're on!" The energy returned to the pegasus swiftly.

Scootaloo smiled at the sight. That was what Rainbow Dash was about! Not crying like a foal, but ready to rock like a champion! That was the kind of person she wanted to be when she grew up…

"Excuse me, Gilda," Fluttershy winced when the griffon looked at her, but continued when the expected reprisal didn't come, "You're going to need regular examinations for your health…I'd be glad to help you out with any needs you have."

Gilda laid her head down, "I'll be glad to tell you what hurts, Fluttercr-"

Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo gasped. Gilda stopped suddenly, looking up at Rainbow Dash. A pair of glaring eyes and a cleared throat were enough to set her straight.

She coughed, rather softly, and said, "Fluttershy, sorry…and thanks, for everything."

Fluttershy bowed her head lightly, glad that she hadn't brought out the griffon's anger as she did during their last encounter, "You're welcome, Gilda."

The last of the tension fell away.

"You know what this calls for?" Pinkie Pie asked the most loaded question she knew.

Scootaloo smiled and took her best guess, "A slumber party?"

"Yep!" Pinkie Pie bounced away, going downstairs to grab the pillows.

Gilda cracked an eye open sleepily, "She's always like that, isn't she?"

"You'll get used to it." Rainbow Dash replied with a knowing smile.

The other pegasi just nodded and smiled.

After all, this slumber party would be very small compared to the baby shower…if Pinkie Pie had anything to do with it.

**Note: Shorter chapter this time, but, I feel that's more of a connecting segment. Hopefully, I'll have less of a headache writing the next chapter.**


	3. Stranglehold

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.**

**Notes: I'd like to apologize for how long this one took. University workload is a hater. I don't have grad student work, but sometimes it can feel like it! I also really struggled with going ahead with this…I have eight whole versions of this chapter alone. To respond to one reviewer who left an unsigned review, I'd like to say that all will hopefully be answered in time…**

**Lost and Found**

**Chapter 3: Stranglehold**

Scootaloo shook herself awake. It wasn't common for her to wake up somewhere other than the clubhouse or one of her friends' houses, but the unique situation was only made more unique by someone knocking at the door.

Whoever it was, they were making quite a bit of noise!

Shaking away the sleep, the young pegasus descended the stairs of the bakery to see why the door hadn't been answered. She stepped over the pillows and the sheets left by other ponies as she headed down.

The answer became obvious as she headed downstairs. There was no pony here!

Annoyed at how no one could even stay to answer the door, she headed down

"Have you seen…" A grey furred pegasus stood just outside the door, pausing in her greeting for a moment to wave at her happily, "Greetings, little Hopper!"

"Hi Ditzy!" Scootaloo smiled in relief at the sight. Ditzy Doo may not have been family, but she was one of dad's old friends and one of the nicer adults that she knew. And she may not have been the smartest pony, but she was around more often than her own mother.

"Are you doing okay? Windy Hopper asked about you…" The blonde mare frowned, "I don't like lying to him, especially about you, little Hopper."

Scootaloo lost her smile, shaking her head, "…I don't want to go back home, anyway..."

The mail-mare hung her head and nodded gravely, "I understand…just know that if you ever need a place to stay and you don't want to go home, you can come to my house. The door's always open for you. Windy even said it was okay…"

"I will, thanks Ditzy."

Ditzy waved, smiling again, "No problem! Have a good day, little Hopper!"

With that, she bounded off of the mailbox and flew off in a hurry.

The mail really could never wait, right?

Sighing, Scootaloo went back inside. If they weren't going to be around for her, she could at least poach some food before leaving. Shutting the door behind herself, she wondered what baked goods she could grab without making it too obvious.

"Hey! Who was making all that noise?" Came an annoyed shout from upstairs that made her jump…until she remembered that she hadn't checked the bed from her spot on the floor.

"Just somepony at the door, Gilda!" She replied. It made her feel a little better that she wasn't alone, though.

Gilda might have been a little cruel, but she was better company than flaky parents. Besides, she was Dash's friend. Those two things meant a lot in the world of a filly who didn't trust her own parents. It wouldn't hurt to offer an olive branch of sorts.

Scootaloo called up the stairs, "Want anything from the kitchen?"

"Grab anything! I'm starving!"

Unfortunately, the bakery was practically cleaned out. Apples, bread, and cookies were all she could find that wasn't already in a display case. Throwing her limited selection on a tray, she hurried up the stairs.

"Thanks." The griffon was laying on the bed when she came in and winced as she sat up a bit, "I don't think I can walk right now."

Scootaloo edged the tray closer to her, just for good measure.

"I thought Fluttershy gave you some medicine and that made it all better." Last night, she didn't seem quite so weak to the little pony.

"I guess it was just a painkiller, kid." Gilda chuckled, slicing the loaf of bread clean in half with her talons, "This sucks, but I've been through way worse."

Scootaloo's grey eyes widened, "Worse than that? You were screaming like somepony was killing you!"

She could only imagine the kinds of adventures that got someone more hurt than that. It sounded like somepony had attacked her, but she talked about the wounds she had and the pain of laying were nothing but foals' play!

She chomped a bit of the bread, "Most of the time when you get into a fight in Cloudsdale or Elektrotstallia, you don't have some pegasus with a bleeding heart trying to help you figure out what's wrong and fix it."

"Sorry." She winced as her nose caught the stench. Though Fluttershy had cleaned her up at the clubhouse, the griffon didn't smell any fresher for a sweaty night's sleep.

"Forget about it, Scootaloo." She chuckled, "Not like a pony from down here in Lame-o-ville can really understand how rough things can be in a real city. Hopefully, you'll have a few more years in you before you get into a Cloudsdale rumble, though."

Scootaloo just took one of the cookies and munched on it, saying the next thing that came to mind, "I've always wanted to go to Cloudsdale or Canterlot, but I know you can't walk to Cloudsdale and the Princess would probably throw me out of Canterlot for being a 'ne'erdobell' or whatever that's called."

"Well, I can't tell you a thing about Canterlot, kid, but you're a pegasus. You just get those wings working and Cloudsdale's not even that far away." Her half of the loaf of bread rapidly vanished into her maw.

"That's easier said than done." Scootaloo just hung her head, fearing that she would never soar with Rainbow Dash.

Gilda grinned at her, "You just need some practice. Tell you what, when I can fly again, I'll show you everything I know. I owe you one for all the help, and Rainbow Dash isn't going to take you seriously until you get your feet out of the mud and your head in the clouds."

She couldn't help the excitement building in her. Visions of her being a Wonderbolt next to Dash sparkled in her mind's eye. Perking up immediately, she stared right into those gold eyes and smiled wide, "You mean it?"

"You'll have to cool your jets before I can even show you how to flap right, though…" She chuckled and looked back at the egg, "But if you wait too long, you'll be waiting in line behind another flier."

Scootaloo looked at her, too, and then at the egg. Anxiousness built in her, "So, when does it hatch?'

"Takes about a month," The griffon turned back, considering the child a moment before laying her head back down, "But the hard part's done."

Gilda yawned and reached out to pull the egg closer, "Just need to keep it warm…"

Though the orange pony thought of leaving to let her get some sleep, something stopped her. She hadn't been asked to leave, but Gilda probably would have if she wasn't so tired.

Even then, though, she found herself dragging her hooves as she moved towards the edge of the bed. Finally, she couldn't bring herself to leave. Where would she go, anyway?

Out into Ponyville where her friends are off having a good deal of sport without her? Snoresville!

Back home where Mother is never around and Father is fast asleep?

She scoffed at that idea and glanced at the sleeping griffon.

It was boring here, but it'd be better than going somewhere else to be alone. Resting her head, she stretched herself out and slid herself further up onto the bed. She didn't care that the bed stank or that she was laying next to somepony who she had thought to be a monster just the other day.

A thought irked her as she laid there, though, but she couldn't get her head around it. What was bothering her? She closed her eyes to think on it harder, and sighed. Sleep didn't take her, even as she laid there. Finally deciding that a nap could wait, she looked back to the egg.

The filly didn't dare speak, for fear of waking Gilda, but she knew she could stare with relative impunity.

That egg, though, drew her eyes. She had seen chicken eggs before, but she had never seen one so big. The sight of it left her wondering the griffon could even fit it inside of her. It was bigger than a baby pony, for Celestia's sake!

The thought was a little chilling. Though she didn't scream or cry about it, it was easy to tell that Gilda was in pain. Could she have…died from just laying that egg?

A shudder ran down her spine.

Her grey eyes carefully glanced over the form of the griffon as she laid there. Her breathing was steady. She looked…content laying next to that egg. If she felt any pain, she hid it in her sleep better than she did in the waking realm.

Scootaloo sighed. Something about this whole scene was still making her edgy. Everything was peaceful, but she still felt that something was off.

She stretched out, trying to find the answers on the inside of her eyelids. Even as her breathing slowed, she couldn't help her uneasiness. Something here just wasn't right…and she knew she'd figure it out…eventually…

Her eyes snapped open.

There was no ground beneath her feet and her wings were not flapping. The young pegasus flailed helplessly as her wings lifelessly fluttered above her. There was nothing she could do but scream. She closed her eyes and screamed as hard as she Dash would come.

Somepony would come!

Anypony could come!

When she opened her eyes, she was staring at an orange pegasus stallion with a navy blue mane.

"Daddy, help me!"

He stared at her with those blue eyes of his. They were falling together and he was doing nothing to stop it.

The absurdity of the situation got to her. Seething, she shouted to the heavens, "SOMEPONY SAVE ME!"

The ground loomed closer and…

"Kid!" Somepony had started shaking her shoulder.

Her eyes snapped open. She wasn't about to die. She was just on the bed, far closer to Gilda than when she started.

"Hey." Her voice was far softer this time, not like the earlier growl, "Hey…"

Scootaloo saw so many things in those golden eyes as she gasped and panted to catch her breath. Sobbing, she nuzzled the griffon's side. She knew Gilda would push her away. She knew it. But she couldn't help crying.

She wrapped her foreleg around the child, holding her close, "This is so lame."

The filly fought her sobs, but couldn't bring herself to pull away. Instead, she held close as long as she could.

"Calm down." The gruff voice was but a gentle shadow of itself.

"S-sorry." She spoke into the fur of the larger flier, savoring the touch. She knew it would end soon.

The griffon curled around and stared down at her, expression softening just a little, "Bad dream, huh?"

Scootaloo nodded shakily.

Gilda tiredly nuzzled her, "It's all right, nothing's going to happen. Just relax."

Scootaloo nuzzled back, just a little. She was still horrified, but she didn't want it to end.

"Awwwww!" Came a perky interruption to their peace.

A soft growl rumbled through the griffon's throat as Pinkie Pie stepped into the room.

Scootaloo closed her eyes, hoping to vanish. This was so embarrassing!

That growl faded, though, and Gilda did her best to restrain the irritation oozing into her tone, "What do you want?"

The pink mare kept smiling and produced a small bottle, "Fluttershy made you some medicine. She said to take one whole bottle every day."

The griffon nodded and took the offered bottle, sniffing it. Deciding that it could smell worse, she downed it one shot. Her face contorted much like it did when she got the spiced lemon drop, "Yuck! That tastes worse than Rotgut's brew of the day!"

"You seem to be handling it well." Pinkie Pie hopped over, concern washing over her features, "Is everything all right? I heard screaming when I came in, and I almost dropped everything I was carrying!"

Gilda looked down at Scootaloo and back up at Pinkie Pie, "Screaming? Nopony was screaming up here…I did hear a hawk fly by, though."

"Oh. I guess those sounds get mixed up really easily. Even if it was a scream, though, you both look okay!" She stepped away from the bed, apparently satisfied, and headed downstairs, "Call if you need anything, guys!"

Scootaloo whispered, "Is she gone?"

It took a few seconds for the response to come, "Yeah."

Scootaloo yawned, stretching out. Exhaustion seemed to be pressing her back down, even as she thought of rising up from the bed!

She smiled, shaking away the bad feelings before laying back down, "…thanks, Gilda."

Gilda grinned as her head started to wobble, "It's nothing, kid…you…"

The rest of her words vanished into mumbling.

Whatever was in that medicine knocked her clean out!

Scootaloo sighed, content, and nuzzled up against the sleeping griffon.

This certainly wasn't the Wonderbolts with Rainbow Dash, but it would do, for now…


	4. With Wings Spread

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.**

**Notes: School has officially finished for me last week. I'm back and better than ever.**

**Lost and Found**

**Chapter 4: With Wings Spread…**

The angle of the sun set its rays right into her eyes as they fluttered open. Scootaloo winced away and tried to scoot backwards. The feathered limb around her waist held firm and progress was limited. With a sigh, she leaned to the left to get the sun out of her eyes.

A rough purr flitted to her ears, following the griffon's breath in and out. She was side to side with this creature and, for the very first time in a while, there were no worries. The tumultuous times were over. Basking in the warmth, she knew all was right with the world.

Her eyes fell shut again and the world fell into silence.

A hoof playing with her mane disturbed her peaceful respite.

Her grey eyes slowly came open again as the sensation stopped. Rainbow Dash stood before her, watching curiously.

Scootaloo yawned and smiled at the elder pegasus, "Good morning, Rainbow Dash."

"H-hey, Scootaloo. I didn't think you'd still be here…" The mare lowered her head, "Has Gilda been all right?"

"Yeah."

"Good." Rainbow Dash looked upon the sleeping griffon, trepidation washing over her features, "You…all right there?"

"Yeah…I just can't slip out."

The blue flier laughed shakily, "Here, I'll help you out."

She lifted Gilda's foreleg carefully and the filly scooted away before the limb could be set down, "Thanks!"

"Don't sweat it, kid." She grinned, lightly setting herself in the vacated space. She fell silent as she stared at the softly slumbering griffon. She rubbed Gilda's shoulder, averting her gaze, "For all you've done, I should be thanking you."

At first, Scootaloo did not know it was her being addressed. Thankfully, the silence didn't persist.

"Gilda's like a sister to me, and I hated what she did. But, you found her, you got Fluttershy to help her…you probably saved her life." Rainbow Dash finally looked back at the younger mare, smiling sincerely, "I don't know if Gilda and I can be friends like we used to, but what you did for her…for us, I'll never forget that, ki-…"

She paused, rubbing the back of her head, "Kindness, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo shuddered a little. The word sister and the thought that someone could have saved Scarlet just like she saved Gilda…

The orange filly smiled uneasily, trying to hide her unease, "Anypony would have done the same. I'm not anypony special."

"The fact you did do it is one hundred percent cool." She ruffled the smaller mare's mane, "Maybe, if you keep it up, you'll get a Cutie Mark for rescuing ponies."

If she wasn't so happy to have this much approval, she might have asked what a rescuing Cutie Mark would even look like.

"Come on. She needs her rest, and you've been stuck in here all day. Time to stretch those wings." Rainbow Dash turned her eyes toward the window, standing up and shaking herself off.

The younger pegasus followed her nervously.

Before she knew it, she was standing on the windowsill and staring out at the ground below. It was only a three story fall, not half as far as that in her dreams…

Looking up, she saw Rainbow Dash staring at her expectantly. Even if she fell the whole way down, it wouldn't hurt that much. If she didn't jump, she'd prove that she was a lame-o to the best pony this side of Ponyville. She knew she had to impress Rainbow Dash, though. Rescuing Gilda had made her one hundred percent cool, but she needed to be one hundred and twenty percent cool!

Taking a deep breath, Scootaloo jumped and flapped her wings as hard as she could.

Much to her relief, she didn't fall very far. It took so much effort just to stay aloft, but she did not fall.

Satisfied that the filly was following her, the weather pony led the way. Thankfully, the speedster kept a fairly leisurely pace. She was losing altitude along the way, despite her fear of falling and her best efforts to stay in the air. Every time she dipped a little too much in altitude, she flapped even harder to make up for it. It was all she could do besides hope that they'd reach their destination before she'd get too tired to keep up. The only thing worse than hurting herself was disappointing Rainbow Dash!

The orange pegasus gasped out a quick thank you to the Princesses as Dash stopped on a steep hill towards the edge of town. Scootaloo set herself down and tried to catch her breath.

"Been a long time since you got in the air, hasn't it?" Came the smug reply to all of her hacking.

"That's…the furthest I've ever flown before." She coughed, just glad to be alive.

Rainbow Dash glanced back, irritation plain on her face, "…you've been riding that scooter way too much."

She might have objected, but spitting to clear her mouth was more important at that moment.

With a shake of her variegated mane, the flier smirked and took to the skies, "Don't worry, kid, just watch. Maybe you'll learn something."

Scootaloo had watched a lot of Rainbow Dash's routines in the past, but she had never gotten quite so close. Seeing one of her shows this close was a one in a lifetime opportunity!

The feel of air rushing through her mane was enough to make her eyes go wide with wonder. By the time she caught sight of the rainbow blur again, she had to shield her eyes from the sun just to keep watching!

That ever spinning twist as she descended from on high at ever increasing speeds left the filly below astonished. She swore she even saw the daredevil's mane touch the ground!

This is why she brought her out here! It was the perfect place to see a flier without ever taking your hooves off the ground!

Just as Rainbow Dash was about to hit the ground below, she swooped upwards and flared her wings. She finally landed next to Scootaloo.

The filly stomped her hooves happily as the daring young flier landed, "That was a great Dash Divebomb!"

"…Dash Divebomb?" The pegasus raised a brow at this comment.

Scootaloo chuckled, rubbing the back of her head nervously.

"Forget it, were you watching that whole thing?"

She nodded her head, eager to forget her minor gaff.

"You saw me pull up at the end, right?"Another nod.

"You need to focus more on stretching your wings and getting the air beneath you to get lift. If the wind's with you it's even easier, but…" Her amethyst eyes met the gray eyes of the young mare, "Oh, whatever. Best way to learn is to try it out."

The hill was pretty tall looking from up here, and she was still pretty tired. Her limbs trembled as she stood above the drop. This hill was taller than Sugarcube Corner. If she fell from here, she'd either smash into the ground or roll down the hill forever.

She backed away from the edge, desperate for an excuse, "You know, w-we should go check on Gilda."

"After you try it. Just once." Dash moved to bar the filly's path and gestured towards the edge.

The hill's slope seemed ever steeper, more like a cliff than a high grade. She was sure that the grass below jutted up like spikes that would ruin her if she couldn't pull up fast enough. Her stomach tied itself up in knots.

"I-" Scootaloo whimpered, unable to think of an excuse, "I can't."

She lowered her eyes, unable to stand the contact. Seconds ticked by in silence. A soft breeze rolled by, bringing a little chill even through the sun's warmth.

Finally, Rainbow Dash put a hoof on her shoulder, "There's something I want to show you."

Before she knew it, the orange pegasus was up on her back. Muttered objections were ignored.

Suddenly, everything was moving.

The ground below rushed by so fast that she just buried her face in that rainbow mane and prayed the ride would be over quickly. If it was anyone else taking her, she'd be howling to be put down before she could fall off. Her idol was the best flier in existence, though…

She whimpered, hoping that she wouldn't fall off. She knew she wouldn't be able to stop herself. Maybe Dash would be able to, but what if she didn't?

She shook as the wind raced past, clinging to the pony beneath her. Finally, the movement stopped and she was set down.

Whatever her hooves was touching was not grass or dirt. It felt strange. She looked down, at long last, and saw that it was cloud beneath her feet. The one she was standing on was pretty small, but at least she had a few steps between her and the edge.

"Turn around."

Scootaloo complied and saw it. The grand archway made purely of cloud, a rainbow pool, and a small manor crafted to be one hundred percent cool.

She felt a little faint, to be truthful, even as she grinned at the sight. For the first time in her life, she was in the clouds and she was standing outside of the Best Young Flier's House!

"Cool!"

Rainbow Dash grinned, "Come on, what I wanted to show you is inside."

The filly happily followed, enjoying the rather strange bounce the clouds gave to each step. The interior of the house was relatively plain, save for the occasional bit of furniture or Wonderbolts souvenirs.

Still, it was nice and cozy…until she looked up. Though there seemed to be a small hallway leading to other rooms, the spacious atrium dominated at least half the house!

"Most cloudhouses have a big room like this so the fillies and colts can practice flying without their parents worrying too much." Rainbow Dash gestured around the room, "I just kept it so we'd have a nice room for parties, but since your wings aren't quite so strong yet, you can use this to practice until you're strong enough to fly for real."

Scootaloo took more than a few moments to process what she had been told.

Dash just kept going, "I saw how you flapped earlier. You have to start flapping before you jump, and you have to ease your way up. Once your wings grow out a bit, it'll get easier. For now, just get up in the air and try to move around."

The pegasus filly took a deep breath and took Dash's advice. It was hard going, as tired as she was from the last flight, but flying was almost fun without the risk of falling to her doom!

Once she got stronger and her wings a little bigger, this would be easy!

She finally sank to the floor, tired out. Her wings burned and she was nearly out of breath, but, it was a good pain. Her scooter was fun, but it just didn't compared to being able to move around in the air."Not bad." Rainbow Dash noted confidently, "Not quite as good as I was, but if you promise to keep practicing, I could come by after school and get you up here so you can use my place to work out."

Scootaloo threw her forelegs around the older mare, "Thank you, Rainbow Dash! Thank you so much!"

"It's nothing. If you get good at flying, you'll be able to go watch me at The Best Young Flier's Competition next year."

"Really?"

Rainbow Dash pulled away and nodded, "Every pegasus should see Cloudsdale at least once. But you have got to work hard so you'll be ready. It's not enough to just be able to fly and do a few tricks: you got to be always working hard to be better, got it?"

She didn't know if it was possible to get that good so quickly, but she knew she had to try. Scootaloo nodded her head eagerly, "I'll be half as good as you by the time we leave for Cloudsdale."

"We'll see." Rainbow Dash grinned, "You did well today for a pegasus who doesn't fly that much, but you're probably starving after all that. Just make yourself at home. I'll grab something real quick from down in Ponyville."The filly watched as her heroine hurried out. Sighing contentedly, she sank onto the cloud beneath her without even bothering with the furniture. She was tired and her wings ached, but it was a good pain. Her heroine had finally acknowledged her.

It wasn't like at the slumber party where she had barely even spoke to was something she had only dreamed of until now. Her thoughts were far from her home, her family, and the horrid nightmares that had dominated her dreams recently. Her thoughts were on the future, forgetting for the moment just how much pain it had taken to get this far.

It'd be hard work, but she knew she could do it!


	5. and Heart Wide Open

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.**

**Notes: Holidays had me sporadic, but I like to think I'm getting better.  
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**Lost and Found**

**Chapter 5: …And Heart Wide Open**

Rainbow Dash left her smile back in her cloud manor with Scootaloo. Even if she hid it well, she worried about that filly. And the filly's interaction with her griffon friend gave her even less peace.

Last time, it had all come crashing down so quickly.

She dove beneath the clouds, staring down at Ponyville below. Sugarcube Corner loomed ahead and she quickly ascended to avoid it.

As much as she wanted to face Gilda right now, she knew that it wasn't the time. Pinkie Pie said she'd let her know if Gilda woke up…but the Bearer of Loyalty just didn't know if she was ready to make that decision. Last time, she knew that her old best friend would be all right on her own. That was the only thing that kept her from chasing after her as she fled.

But, with that egg and the chick that would hatch from it, could Gilda really handle being out on her own?

Rainbow Dash shook her head to clear her thoughts. For once, she was more worried about someone she had never met than one of her oldest friends.

Right now, she needed to hurry up, before Scootaloo would miss her. Applejack could probably pass her an apple pie real quick. That'd be enough for the two of them. Redoubling her pace, she dove past Sugarcube Corner and landed in the market square…

Pinkie Pie frowned as she peered up into her room from the stairs. Gilda was still sleeping, but she had rolled over away from her egg.

Now, she didn't know a thing about griffon eggs, but she knew that eggs that weren't warm didn't hatch. The thought of the griffon foal inside the eggy weggy not ever coming out or getting to enjoy sweets made her frown. Even if it turned out to be twice as mean as Gilda was at her worst, it deserved to know all the good things about the earth mare stepped up and into the room, unsure of what to do. Her hoofs played softly at the floor as she stared on at the egg. Normally, a situation like this wouldn't give her trepidation. Sneaking up on anypony was nothing for her, especially when there was a good cause behind it.

She had gone face to face with a dragon before…so sneaking up on one little dopey-juiced griffon should be easy, right?

Getting to the bed was easy enough, but her fore hooves shook as she reached for the egg.

The softest of growls from Gilda made her freeze. A second later, she dared to move her blue eyes just far enough to look. The griffon seemed to stir a moment, but just nuzzled back into the sheets.

Pinkie Pie's hooves didn't stop shaking even as she grabbed the egg. As she slid it toward Gilda, she blinked.

_Gilda looked down at Little Gilda. Little Gilda was holding onto an apple, and Gilda swiped it out of her talons. Little Gilda wept and sank to the ground, while Gilda triumphantly swallowed the apple in one bite…_

Frowning, the pink pony drew the egg into a gentle hug, remembering what Gilda had done to Fluttershy and how her words had hurt Dash. It felt strangely warm, like there was love inside.

The young mare wanted to protect that love. She lightly nuzzled it, her smile widening.

"I wonder what you're going to come out like…" She murmured at the egg, looking past it to the sleeping griffon. It was easy to think the worst of what could happen when she held this egg next to the creatures that had heartlessly made Fluttershy cry and had turned her back on the kindness of Ponyville.

She was not so innocent, though. The pink prankster could have done something to prevent all of those pranks from making Gilda so mad. Perhaps things could have worked out if she had made a better effort to work with Gilda? It might have been really hard work, but, perhaps, Gilda could have been their friend, too. Maybe this situation was fate giving a second chance?

Pinkie Pie sighed, putting on a smile, "Little eggy weggy, just for you, I'll be extra nice. I want Gilda to have a nice place to raise you, and to be a good mommy. Then things will be better."

At long last, she set the egg down close to its mother. Pulling a loose sheet around it gently, she whispered, "Nighty night!"

Giggling, she tiptoed backwards toward the stairs. Pausing at the top, she stared. Gilda was sleeping contentedly.

'_She doesn't seem half as grumpy when she's sleeping.'_ Ponyville's primary party pony trotted lightly down the stairs. Even though an uncertain future loomed ahead, she knew she could face it with a grin…especially when somepony was knock-knock-knocking on her door!

Hopping down the steps, she checked to see who it was.

A dark maned, orange pelted pegasus stallion stood in the doorway. Exhaustion had a firm grip on him as he stared across the threshold, "I heard my daughter was staying here? Is she all right?"

"Mister Hopper!" Pinkie Pie's eyes widened in recognition, "I'm sorry, but Scootaloo left. She was having fun here and ate all her meals, and Dashie will take good care of her."

He opened his mouth to say something, but sighed before he said anything, "All right. If she comes back in here, could you tell her that her mother is coming back from Canterlot soon? I just got the letter today, and I really want her to be at home when my dearest Crimson comes back..."

"Will do!"

"Thanks." With just a ghost of a smile on his face, he nodded once and flew away.

Pinkie Pie pulled the door shut. She was happy that Scootaloo might get to see her mother soon…but Mr. Hopper's trepidation had her worried. What could she do to make this better?

The question left her standing behind the bakery's counter, pondering the events surrounding her…

Scootaloo sighed as she laid back on the cloud floor. Boredom was starting to set in.

…Rainbow Dash did have a nice house, though. Even though this was JUST the living room, this room alone was cooler than her own home.

Even if she had to sleep right here, on the floor, she knew it'd be better.

Deciding that Rainbow Dash wouldn't mind if she had a little bit of a look around, she stood up and walked into that rear hallway. Checking the door on the right, she saw the bathroom.

Well, at least she wouldn't have to ask later. A quick tinkle would go unnoticed, at least…though the toilet felt strange. The same material that sat beneath her feet…made for a rather comfortable experience.

She didn't like to think that much about using the toilet, though, and quickly left without washing her hooves.

The room across the hall was to be explored next, but it didn't open.

Scootaloo wasn't really sure about how a cloud lock would work, but…the door didn't open. This excited her a little more. If this door was locked, it wasn't Rainbow Dash's bedroom or anything like that!

It was probably just a closet or something!

Sweetie Belle would probably ask why Rainbow Dash bothered to lock a closet, but Scootaloo knew that her heroine didn't need a reason. She probably kept a lot of awesome and valuable stuff in that closet!

For the pegasus filly, though, the real prize was the next room…

"Hey, kid! I'm back!"

Nearly jumping out of her fur, she ran out into the main room again.

Rainbow Dash had a sweet smelling apple pie balanced across her back.

The older pegasus smiled and set the pie down on the table, "Had trouble finding the head, huh?"

Scootaloo blinked, "How would I lose my head?"

She sat down on the cushions around the table, "Haha, never mind, kid. Bathroom's over there if you need it. Enjoy the pie."

Scootaloo sighed and took up a position across the table, relieved. Still, even as anxiousness abandoned her, curiosity returned. Even though the table was made out of clouds, the pie sat steadily on it. But only pegasi and other winged creatures could stay on clouds, so how could a pie rest on a table made out of cloud?

Instead of hurting her head by contemplating the years of practical cloud experience she had missed out on, she looked at the pie. To be truthful, she'd feel more than a little guilty just eating it all…

A small piece, messily yet carefully separated by some quick hoof work, was more than enough to sate her.

Rainbow Dash took a piece as well, grinning, "Don't eat it all at once."

They ate in relative silence, enjoying the pie…though the noiselessness that stood between them left its taste dulled. They both occasionally glanced at the other, but one of them averted their eyes before the other could question it. About half of it was left over, all told, but the elder pony just slipped it into her ice box.

Rainbow Dash finally broke the silence as she leisurely made her way back to the cushions, chuckling, "I never met a pegasus who grew up on the ground before."

The filly giggled anxiously, turning her eyes towards a picture of a yellow pegasus with a fiery mane. It sat next to a picture of Rainbow Dash and all of her friends. She tried to think up a question to turn things back on far more interesting pegasus.

"Neither have I." She conceded the battle with her sluggish wits, hoping to back out of the conversation. It wasn't like she could run away, though…all she could hope was that Rainbow Dash would back off of the subject.

"You all right, Scootaloo?" She stopped across the table, staring deep into the child's eyes.

"Yeah." Scootaloo nodded as she looked back towards the pictures, praying that her idol would take the comment at face value and let it go.

Last year's best young flier frowned and sat down right between her and the pictures, "Look, if there's something bothering you, I'll be glad to help."

Finally, the orange pony gave up on being able to get away from this line of discussion subtly, "It's nothing. I'm fine."

It was only a few seconds later that she realized that it sounded far too hard and mean.

Those amethyst eyes flashed with hurt for just a second…though the filly surely didn't notice.

The silence between the two sought to strangle them. They just sat there, next to each other, unsure of what to do or say. Seconds stretched into eternity for the pair.

Finally, the weather pony spoke up, "…look, I gotta get ready for Night Cloud Patrol tonight, but if you want to come up and work out tomorrow, I'll be around town."

Scootaloo smiled through her disappointment, "Okay."

Rainbow Dash helped her back to the ground, hesitating a few moments after the younger pony had her hooves on the ground, "…have a good one, Scootaloo."

With that, Scootaloo was almost alone. Now that the irritation was gone, the specter of regret took up a firm seat on her back. She couldn't believe that she had let herself get so distracted by her lame family in front of the coolest pony in all of Equestria! She could have been asking about cool tricks or some of her adventures, not sitting there dodging questions about her dumb parents.

For once, she was only left with herself to be mad at. There were no friends to make the pain go away…and no one else to take the blame.

Denying herself the right to cry, she trotted off. Celestia hadn't put down her beautiful sun yet, but she was going to need to find shelter somewhere.

Pinkie Pie wasn't that smart and she was crazy enough to believe a lot of excuses, but staying over too many nights in a row could be enough to wear out her welcome. Besides, if Ditzy Doo could find her there, it'd only be a matter of time before she caved and told her father.

The clubhouse probably wasn't safe to sleep in with the hit it had taken from Gilda's landing, and her friends' houses were probably out of the question too. Even if her father searched no where else in Ponyville to before giving up on her, he'd check the homes of her best friends.

While she mulled over her answer, though, she realized that there were just about no safe places she could hide out. Finally, she settled on the Clubhouse. She knew the blankets she kept stashed up in the top would still be there.

Since Rainbow Dash was on night patrol, there wouldn't be any rainstorms to worry about.

It wouldn't be too bad…

Unfortunately, she stumbled as someone started wheeling a cart toward her. She didn't get crushed beneath the wheels, but she did end up laying face down in the dirt.

Scootaloo helped herself up, groaning. At least no one had caught on to her…

"Rarity!" A high pitched squeal sent her scrambling for some cover.

Thankfully, Sweetie Belle ran on by.

Sighing, she skulked down the side street. Hopefully, no pony she knew would be this far out.

"Scootaloo!"

And that made her freeze.

She turned around only to be embraced. A disorderly crimson mane was the first thing she saw.

"Oh my little pony! It's great to see you!" Finally, the white ambush artist pulled back and smiled down at the filly.

Scootaloo was stunned. Her eyes went wide as she stared upon this mare's face. Her hair was well kept, even if her sense of style was still entirely absent. Half of her mane fell in her face, covering one of her grey eyes up entirely, and the rest fell every which way.

When she found her voice, she couldn't help but stammer a little, "M-mom. Hi!"

"I thought you'd be speechless about my new look!" The white pelted pony smiled for a moment, as her mouth started to get away from her, "I was referred to the most wonderful stylist by my counselor, who just loved my painting of the pegasi by the seashore, and you wouldn't believe it, he does work for Fancy Pants! And you w- Oh, I best not spoil the surprise! Your father's awake, isn't he?"

As her mom rambled about her time in Canterlot, though, the surprise wore off and the filly remembered that her earth pony parent cared more about her art than anything else. If nothing else, at least her father looked for her, even if he was just as annoying as she could be. It was only the fact that her mother was looking right at her that kept her from scowling, "I don't know, mom."

"Well, let's go see!" The earth pony with the oddly styled hair started walking, "I tell you, though, you're both going to be so happy when you hear it! It is going to change everything about our lives…"

Scootaloo stood right where she was until she was sure that her mother wasn't paying attention, and ran the other way as fast as she could.


	6. Homecoming

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.**

**Notes: My good computer is down, but I rise from the ashes like Philomena! Except instead of pranks, I bring you prose!**  
><strong>-<strong>

**Lost and Found**

**Chapter 6: Homecoming**

Scootaloo knew her mother didn't know the lay of the land like her. There'd be some time before she'd get caught, and just about everypony knew where she'd go to hide. She'd change her tricks…and that'd buy her some time.

But where could she go that they wouldn't immediately find her out?

She rounded a corner and came face to face with her answer.

"Sugarcube Corner, perfect!" Huffing and puffing, she just let herself in. Pinkie Pie wouldn't mind the intrusion. The bakery was starting to dim, but she was pretty sure that the mare of the house wasn't around.

It was far too quiet.

For once, she was glad for silence.

Silence meant no one was around to rat her out. Her hooves were the only noise in the entire bakery as she climbed the stairs. She paused at the top of the steps, seeing just how dim Pinkie Pie's room had gotten.

Two golden eyes gleamed in the darkness, "Who's there?"

"Just me, Gilda."

"Oh." She yawned, "Hey kid."

Scootaloo stayed silent for a moment, pondering what she should say to the griffon as she came further into the room.

"Hmph."

The filly stopped, "What?"

"You're quiet." Gilda sounded irritated at that fact.

"So?" Scootaloo found herself on the defensive again.

The new mother grunted, "Open the curtains."

Warily, she complied with the order.

Gilda stood up on the bed, stretching her wings wide. She winced as she tried to follow suit with her rear legs and sank down to the mattress.

She growled and struck the bed hard enough to make it shake in terror, "I still can't do it?"

Scootaloo edged away as the egg bounced a bit. Fear stalled her near the edge of the steps.

Seething, the griffon threw herself down on the bed. Her whole form trembled and her snarling filled the room.

The silence was gone, and she'd do anything to have it back. For a moment, the thought of her parents was a little better than that horror…

The terror's hold upon her lessened as the bestial noises began to soften. The fit that the griffon had thrown began to abate.

A little nervousness still lingered, however. That one last bit was enough to urge her to step back and leave Gilda alone.. Two pairs of eyes widened as the pair realized, too late, what was happening.

Wordlessly, Gilda lunged after Scootaloo as she went over backwards.

Wings spread, that one thrust managed to get her talons just far enough forward to grab the filly's forelegs.

With a harsh tug, she pulled her up and onto safe ground.

The filly stood up nervously, worried that the wood beneath her feet may abandon her.

Gilda looked over at her and glared through the pain, "Don't do that again."

Her eyes fell upon her savior, and she trembled, "…thank you."

She rose and started to stiffly walk back towards the bed, "So what are you doing here, anyway? Pinkie Pie said you left with Dash. I thought she was full of it when she said she saw you flying away."

"Well, I did, but that was a while ago." Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head as she jumped up on the bed after the griffon.

"So, what, you flew?" She looked amused, actually turning to look at her from where she laid.

The young pony turned towards the larger female and chattered away about her day, "All the way to the other side of town! It was hard, but, yeah. She even told me she'd let me come out after school and practice flying in her cloud house!"

Taking it all in for a moment, Gilda finally smirked, "That's pretty cool, kid."

She frowned briefly, "Don't mess it up."

Scootaloo felt her cheer flowing away, and she felt a little spite for the doubt. Her tongue got away from her, "Like you did?"

Those golden eyes hardened instantly and that beak twisted into the most hateful expression that could be mustered.

She flinched under that furious gaze, shuddering.

Finally, she sighed to blow that fury away, "Yeah…like I did."

Scootaloo winced at just how sudden the change was, "Hey, I'm sorry."

"Nah, kid. The I'm sorries are between me, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Dash." She shook her head, still sounding pretty sore about it, "You just don't ask about that lame old time again. Even if I'm stuck in this lame town, there isn't going to be a day half as lame as that day."

The orange filly nodded, nervously running a hoof through her messy purple mane carefully. Now that her larger neighbor was no longer glaring, she could relax a bit.

Any distraction from what made her mad would be great, "So, has it moved at all?"

"It doesn't do that until it's about to hatch."

"Oh…" Scootaloo watched her for a moment and realized that she didn't seem half as irritated as she did before. It was either stay here and be bored, or go out there and eventually get caught.

Still, after minutes of silence, she found that it wasn't any easier to fall asleep…

"So, uh…what are you gonna name it?"

"I don't know." Gilda sighed weakly, "I…didn't even know I was carrying until after I woke up."

"We could always think of something cool and awesome to name it before it hatches."

"I wish it was that easy." She shook her head with a laugh, "Griffon names are usually chosen based on a blessing spoken over the egg, kid. If I gave it a name I just made up, that'd be like me telling that egg it'd never amount to anything."

"Oh." It sounded like a stupid idea to her, to be honest. How could anypony amount to nothing? Even griffons had to have special talents, even, if they didn't have Cutie Marks, right?

A quick glance towards her blank flank reminded her that she might actually amount to nothing…

That unhappy thought turned around quickly; she was going to train with Rainbow Dash until she was cool enough to get her cutie mark. She wasn't about to mess that up.

"So…how do you get a blessing, anyway?"

"Well, we used to have the Speaker of our Stronghold do it, but powerful warriors and wise leaders have given blessings in the stead of a Speaker." Gilda contemplated the affair seriously.

"What about Rainbow Dash?" The youth's eagerness raised her tone to one of true excitement.

The griffon, on the other hand, sank a little bit, "I thought about asking Rainbow Dash, but...we need to smooth the past over before I can ask her something like that."

Scootaloo nodded at last. She hadn't ever really fought with her friends, but she understood that some things couldn't just be told at any old time. This was one of them.

She did hope that Gilda would work it out and get that egg a blessing. Without one, it'd be like a pony who could never have a Cutie Mark!

The noiselessness that dominated them gave her time to think. The recovering young mother needed someone wise or powerful to make a blessing over the egg, and the runaway needed a solution for her parent problems.

If their problems were that easy to solve, they'd be solved already.

The young pegasus looked up to Gilda, but her thoughts were dashed as the door downstairs slammed open.

Scootaloo yelped and quickly whispered at Gilda, "Don't tell them I'm here!"

Thinking as quickly as she could, she hopped down to the floor and crawled under the bed.

The elder of the pair didn't have time to query about the sudden dive. By the time a sound had passed her beak, the filly was already hidden from sight.

She sighed in annoyance as a bouncy pink figure ascended the stairs. She had known the kid had been holding off on telling her something.

She tried to not sound irritated, "Pinkie Pie, what's going on?"

"Gilda, did you hear anypony come in here?"

She stared at her talons, looking fairly disinterested, "I heard nopony coming in here."

"Ooohh, girls, she isn't here!" Pinkie Pie turned back toward the stairs.

"This is one of the worst possible things! Our only lead saw her come in here!" A white unicorn with a well cared for purple mane exclaimed as she stepped up into the room as well.

Fluttershy crept into the room behind the other two, "Maybe she came in here and then ran out the back door because she was scared of being followed?"

The unicorn frowned, "Poor dear. She must be hungry by now…"

The earth pony frowned, but gathered determination quickly, "No pony deserves to be alone and hungry. Let's get out there and find her! Dashie and all the weather ponies are looking for her, so we've gotta do our part, too!"

"Indeed!" "Yes!" Her comrades replied with that same motivation.

They all turned to leave, but Fluttershy lingered behind, "If you see her, Gilda, just shout out the window. Tell her that she's not going to be in trouble. Her parents are really worried about her!"

"Don't worry about it."

The pink maned pony smiled uneasily at the cooperation and hurried down the stairs.

It was another minute or two before Gilda felt like she could safely call for the sought afterparty to come out, and the orange pony took several moments to actually emerge.

She couldn't escape the griffon's scrutiny, however, "Kid, you've done a lot for me, so let me give you some advice: hiding under the bed only works the first time."

Scootaloo shook her head, trying not to think about everything around her. She wanted to scream and shout, but she knew someone would hear if she did.

"Don't worry, kid. I know bad parents."

She clenched her teeth as tightly as possible, fighting the urge to scream, "What do you know? At least yours probably pretended to care enough to be around!"

"Your parents didn't ruin your life from the start, kid." Gilda shook her head, seeming unimpressed by the anger, "They had Rotgut, an old drunk, do my blessing. I'd rather have Pinkie Pie do it than someone like Rotgut, and Pinkie Pie's a damned idiot. At least she's a standup mare. At least she might have said a nice and honest blessing, instead of slurring half the words and saying something about how I'd never amount to more than rotten gold!"

Though she still trembled with rage, the filly didn't know what to do about it. Her parents ignored her and barely did anything to help her, but neither her absentee mother nor her never awake father ever done something like that. They may have left her alone because they didn't care for her, but they never gave her a name that says 'you'll never be anything'.

The thought of that cruelty chilled her to the bone. How lucky she was, even if it was just for being less unfortunate than somepony else…

Gilda shook her head, "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe you should go home."

The look on the young mare's face was incredulous. She sputtered, trying to convince herself to argue.

The griffon shrugged, "Somepony's going to find you, and you're just going to be tired from all of the running you did when they do. You got friends, I bet, and Rainbow Dash will worry about you too. She's probably flying around fast as she can, looking for you."

Scootaloo bowed her head in shame. The thought of her friends and idol being worried hadn't even crossed her mind.

"I'm not trying to say you have to like your parents or put up with them, but, for now, I think you should go home and try to think about how to deal with this. If you make up a good lie, maybe they'll not even think you ran away. You probably won't even get in trouble if your parents really are worried."

The purple maned pegasus nodded. She hated the idea of going home, but she knew she'd hate making her friends and Rainbow Dash suffer over her.

She nodded one more time, smiling like a war criminal going to the gallows, "Thanks Gilda."

"I hope this works out for you, kid. Maybe your parents are idiots, but at least they never gave up on you from the start." She frowned.

Scootaloo barely heard the first part as she ran out of the room.

She was quickly found walking back to her house. Her 'rescuer', a green maned earth pony stallion, bought her lie about having gotten separated from her mother in the market and agreed to walk her home.

Many of the searching ponies cheered and chattered as the stallion shouted it out to them.

Finally, Scootaloo was back at her home. It was a pretty small and unimpressive house, all told.

"Thanks for walking me home, mister." She bowed her head as humbly as she could.

The stallion assured her that it was no trouble as she walked to the door and let herself in.

Her house was the same as always, except for the banner over the table that read: _'Welcome home, Crimson Brush!'_

Before she could announce herself, her father emerged from the back. His navy blue mane was out of order, but his eyes lit up as he saw her, "Scootaloo!"

He quickly whirled back towards the back of the house, "Darling, Scootaloo's back!"

Not missing a beat, he trotted out into the entryway, "Come in, dear, sit down!"

He had the biggest smile on his face, even though there were tears staining the fur around his eyes.

Hopefully, this would be quick and then they'd let her go to bed, "Yeah, dad."

They sat down further in the house, past the dining room, and the questions continued, "Are you all right, honey?"

She didn't feel like acting dramatic and making trouble for herself, "I'm all right. I just got lost on the way home."

He sighed heavily and forced a smile, "We're just glad you're okay. Your mother was so worried."

Finally, a creaking of the steps signaled her mother's descent and the white earth pony hurried over to her and threw her forelegs around her, "My little pony! I was so worried when I lost you!"

She had to endure two hugs, now; her father got in on the hugging once her mother stopped crying.

To be truthful, she was sure her mother would be talking about her own business the moment she came down. That was a pleasant surprise, even though she knew her mother would start talking about herself again.

Scootaloo found herself smiling, even as she assured herself it was just to make them calm down, "It's okay, guys, really! I wasn't paying attention on the way home. And nothing bad happened."

The elder orange pony nodded, "I'm just glad we're all together for the good news you wanted to share, my darling."

"Oh," She sobbed one last time, wiping her tears on a tissue, "I'm so sorry to have kept you in suspense all this time, my beloved, but this is family news! We all had to be here to hear it!"

The daughter sat in suspense. Her mother usually just wrote, whether the news was good or bad. It must have been something grand to involve coming all of this way.

"I told you about developing some connections through my stylist in Canterlot, and you wouldn't believe it!" The crimson maned pony giggled, "Someone had attempted to pass off my work as their own at a display the Princesses visited!"

"That's good news?" Scootaloo was confused. The way her mother told it, it was the best thing that had ever happened.

"Oh, I know. Here comes the twist, my dear!" Crimson laughed again, looking as if she felt she was very clever, "Someone pointed out that it was mine, and after it was proven by my signature, I was called aside by the Princesses, the stewards of the sun and moon!"

The little pony didn't much appreciate the dancing around the point, but she didn't feel like getting lectured for talking back, either.

"Princess Luna felt my work was just marvelous, and she insisted on hiring me as a Royal Artist! The mark upon my flank finally has true meaning!"

The brush dancing across a splotch of variegated paint and the aforementioned slim flank was displayed prominently to both her husband and child.

She couldn't help noting that her mother's cutie mark held as many colors as Rainbow Dash's. Before this moment, she truly hadn't paid that much attention to her mother. Her father's was so much less impressive that she didn't even remember it clearly. It wasn't often she saw him, after all.

"That's great, Crimson Brush!" Mr. Hopper used his wife's full name at long last as he stomped his hooves. His excitement filled up the room as did the sounds of his hooves playing upon the floor.

"Yeah, mom…that's wonderful." As far as the filly was concerned, she would be gone just as much and act just as uncaring as before. Sure, the Princess thought her art was nice, and that was cool enough, but it didn't change anything.

Laughter filled the room and it took her mother a whole minute to calm herself enough to speak, "We're moving to Canterlot!"

Scootaloo's whole world stopped with those four words.


	7. Riposte

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.**

**Notes: Nothing much to report this time. I'm getting my stride with university now, I guess.**

**Lost and Found**

**Chapter 7: Riposte**

Scootaloo felt the words bouncing around in her head like four Pinkie Pies all on a sugar high.

She had wanted to see Canterlot almost as much as she wanted to see Cloudsdale, but, her mother telling her this felt like getting bucked in the face.

Instead of growing up and seeing it on her terms, now she was going to be torn away from those friends and thrown far, far away!

What if it wasn't half as good as everyone said it was? What if everyone there was like her mother?

"That's…um, well, t-that's…" Her father's tongue tripped all over itself as his congratulatory stomping came to a halt.

Her mother's eagerness was unaffected by her husband's reaction, "I made arrangements for us to have castle lodgings! We're going to be set for life!"

"Darling, t-that's…w-w-we," The older pegasus stammered, "We didn't discuss that at all."

"Oh my beloved Windy Hopper," Crimson Brush grinned at him, "What was there to discuss? Living in Canterlot Castle is the best thing that could ever happen to us!"

"Um, yes…" He bowed his head.

Finally, Scootaloo found her voice and she used it, "But, I like it here in Ponyville."

It shocked both of her parents, though her mother seemed almost amused by the resistance, "But my darling daughter, dingy old Ponyville has nothing on Canterlot! You'll surely like it once you lay eyes on the buildings and set hooves upon its marvelous streets!"

Her father looked between the two mares in his life, uncertainty plainly scribed across his features.

The filly shook her head, "You aren't leaving YOUR home behind, you're just making us do it!"

"Scootaloo! Watch your tone!" Her mother's smile fell away, as if Celestia had stricken it from its spot on her face, but quickly recaptured its position, "I am your mother after all, and I do mean best for you! Besides, there will be so many more opportunities for you in Canterlot!"

She wanted to argue, but she remembered well what she had been told earlier. Gilda had said to think now and act later. Besides, her mother wouldn't be persuaded so simply. She'd have to do something about this, but she wouldn't be able to solve it by talking.

"Uh…sure." She looked to her father, who tried to hide just how much he shared her apprehension, and shrugged her shoulders, "Sorry, mom."

"That's okay, my dear. We are both so excited about this it is making us irrational." She brought her hooves together with a loud clop, "Get the cake, my beloved! A little dinner will make us all the more rational about our coming move!"

Windy did retrieve the cake from another room. It was rather small, frosted with all sorts of colors in a garish fashion.

Scootaloo recognized it at last. It was based on one of the paintings that her mother had made before she left for Canterlot; the one that her father kept in his room instead of around the house. It was a gigantic circle of rainbow colored light bursting outwards. To the filly, it looked like one big mess, but her mother had said that it was 'the essence of Celestia's day at its highest' or something like that.

In the center it had written _'Welcome Home, Crimson Brush!'_

Her father wasn't exactly creative to copy her ugly design, but he had certainly gone all out for her…

"Oh. You remembered that old thing?" That crimson maned artist leaned over to give her disheveled husband a kiss on the cheek, "That's so sweet of you, my dear."

She had to admit, though, that it was nice that he got chocolate cake. And, for what it was worth, her mother didn't talk while she had her two pieces. It was the time that she opened her mouth

Scootaloo excused herself after she quickly finished her piece. They hastily exchanged 'good nights' and 'pleasant dreams' as she ascended the stairs. Right across the hall from the top of the stairs, where it had always been, sat her bedroom.

Her room was small and nearly bare. A toy box only a few years younger than her sat in one corner, while a small bed sat in the other. Unlike all the other foals, this wasn't her sanctum. It had more in common with a cell, to be honest. Stepping over to the bed, she noticed that the sheets had been changed.

'_Well, if there's one thing I can depend on dad to do…'_ Right now, she was so tired she just wanted to wake up in school tomorrow morning.

After school, she'd have another chance to act on her situation. She didn't know where she could run to, though. So many ponies had united to find her so quickly. Last time, she had allowed herself to be caught, but the odds were against her. Everypony would grow suspicious about her situation. Rainbow Dash might find out…

She resolved to never let that happen. The coolest flier in all of Equestria COULDN'T find out about this situation.

Rainbow Dash would think less of her for not being able to solve her own problems like a grown mare would.

Still, as she stared up at the ceiling from under her clean sheets, she wondered just how she could get out of this if she couldn't just run away. Sleep found her long before she found a solution.

As her eyes opened to the morning sun, the orange pegasus blinked as she remembered where she was and her lack of a plan. Still, she'd be able to go to school and not be bothered for most of the day. After that, she'd have a plan made up.

Checking the clock, she realized that she'd be standing around doing a whole lot of nothing for a while if she left now. As she descended the stairs, though, the smell of breakfast hit her.

Her father set a huge plate of pancakes at the center of the table, "Good morning, Scootaloo! Just in time for breakfast."

"Thanks dad." It was hard to not smile when warm food was on the table. It was a lot better than just eating apples or a sandwich in the morning.

Her father sat down across from her and sighed. He took a few bites of his pancakes before forcing a smile, "Your mother was very tired from traveling and telling of her adventures…so it looks like there's extra pancakes for the two of us!"

She ate quietly, not sure of what to say and unable to force a laugh at his bit of humor. More time spent thinking would benefit her more than talking. Too much talking was half the problem with this family, as far as the daughter was concerned.

He , however, couldn't stand the silence, "So…how is school?"

"Uh, fine." She swallowed the pancake piece she was on, looking up to see that her father was still looking at her.

Their meal stopped for a moment as they stared at each other.

Finally, the pegasus known as Windy Hopper spoke in a much more quite voice, "I…I know what your mother said last night is a lot to deal with, but, I think we need to be open-minded about it."

Scootaloo went back to eating her pancakes. There was nothing she could say to her father that would convince him to stand up to that insane artist she had to call mom.

The meal finished in relative silence.

She stood to leave, not bothering to take her plate to the sink.

"Scootaloo, wait."

She turned back to see her father standing and staring at her, trying to get his mouth to move.

Finally, he sighed and grabbed something off of one of the other chairs, "Somepony brought your bags and your scooter back to the house last night. Try to bring them home tonight, honey."

"Uh, sure, thanks, dad." That'd save her some work, but she'd still have a lot of time to kill before school.

The scooter and her helmet were left right next to the door, outside. She strapped up and rode off slowly. The filly didn't know where to go, but she knew that waiting around wouldn't do her any good.

The ache in her wings came back stronger than ever. The time she spent with Rainbow Dash yesterday seemed so far away. She'd be going back again, today, but if her family took her to Canterlot, she'd never be able to fly with her idol ever again.

Even a whole week of training with the best wouldn't make her a good flier. If her mother was so eager about this move, she might not even have a week.

Sliding to a stop at the side of a house, she put a hoof down and folded her wings back up. There was no where to be in a hurry, anyway. School was at least half an hour off, and it'd probably take her a few minutes to get there if she went slowly.

Reassured that she had time to spare, the young daredevil thought it over. If she rushed off to school, there'd be nothing to do. On the other hand, there would be plenty of time to think and rest, and she knew that no one would be there early. There'd be no students to bother her there.

Slowly flapping her wings and fighting off the ache, she scooted off to the schoolhouse.

Thankfully, the door was left unlocked and the place of learning was abandoned this early in the morning.

Her desk on the front right of the room sat just as it had when she ran off from school on Friday. The chair was pulled out as far as it could be and her notebook was left inside it. She scoffed at the book; the whole thing was empty except for doodles on the first few pages, anyway.

Scootaloo wasn't going to start using it for its intended purpose today, but it had been the easy way to tell her desk apart from the others after the new seating change. She didn't know why Cheerilee wanted to change the seating assignments every other week.

The only good thing about moving away would be that she wouldn't have to sit next to Diamond Tiara again.

She shook her head at that traitorous thought. Canterlot could be a beautiful city with the most wonderful ponies, but it just wouldn't be worth leaving everything she loved behind.

Despite her insistence that she had to fight for an alternative, fruitless silence dominated the schoolhouse. Every time she got close to a breakthrough, it seemed like something blocked it. Her father couldn't be convinced to oppose her mother, for example, and she knew that asking ponies around town for help would backfire. Even if she could trust her friends to not tell anyone, their plans never really worked out quite perfectly.

This much helplessness was enough to make her want for Diamond Tiara to show up. Venting her frustration all over that moron or her little flunky would make her day!

Still, minute after minute passed, and she started to wonder where everypony was.

Surely that nerd Twist should have shown up by now, but she couldn't even hear any chattering or playing outside…

Finally, hooves played on the steps up into the schoolhouse, and she turned her grey eyes toward the entrance.

She immediately recognized her magenta coated earth pony teacher, though she said nothing.

Her voice betrayed her perplexed nature first, "Scootaloo? What are you doing here?"

"Ms. Cheerilee, it's Monday morning. That means it's time for school, right?" Annoyance wanted into her tone so very badly, but she fought it off.

She considered the foal's words a moment with an uneasy expression and laughed softly as she came to a conclusion, "I'm so sorry, you came here so eager to learn, but I must have forgotten to tell you that I needed to cancel class today. You can leave. Just make sure to read the lesson we were going over on Friday, okay?"

"Okay." Despite her acknowledgement, she remained where she was sitting.

It was far more likely that she just hadn't been paying attention when the announcement was made. Of all the times for school to be cancelled, though, this was the worst possible day! She'd have to find another place to kill time…and her parents might find out and come looking for her.

While she cursed her bad luck, however, the teacher strode over to her desk, "Oh! Wait! Since you're here, could you help me with an errand?"

Boring as this would be, it would be far preferable to going home. Her mother would surely be up by now and want to talk more and more about Canterlot…

She stood up, sliding her notebook back into her desk and picking up her schoolbags, "What do you need, Ms. Cheerilee?"

"I've got to take a few books back to the library, and I've got to take a few more out. I'd appreciate your help."

The young, orange pegasus agreed. Slipping the books into her bags, she followed her teacher to her destination.

It was the slowest she had ridden on her scooter in a long time, but the library was close enough to the schoolhouse.

Setting her scooter and helmet aside, she followed Cheerilee into the tree.

Spike was holding a scroll and quill in his hand, while Twilight sat nearby to dictate, "Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

"Just in time, Cheerilee!" The young dragon looked to the unicorn, who nodded.

A quick breath of flame consumed the letter swiftly. She stared on in amazement as the paper turned to ash and vanished at the end of the green flame.

"The new shipment just came in yesterday," Twilight froze as her eyes fell on the filly, surprise overtaking her smile for a moment, "Oh. Hi, Scootaloo."

"Hi Twilight." Scootaloo took out the books she had loaded into her bags, "Ms. Cheerilee wanted you to have these back."

Cheerilee explained the situation quickly, "She volunteered to help me with my errand."

The purple furred librarian smiled eagerly, "Oh. Maybe thinking about taking out a few books yourself?"

The young pegasus had to keep sounding polite, "Uh, no, but I did have a question."

"Oh. Ask me anything."

"Why did Spike burn that letter?"

The baby dragon spoke up, raising a clawed finger, "Oh! That's dragon magic. Certain breaths used by dragons can act like magical spells."

"That's right." Twilight stood proudly next to her assistant, "Spike has mastered a teleportation evocation that sends scrolls and letters right to Princess Celestia."

"Oh." The filly nodded her understanding, "So it's way faster than the mail?"

The purple and green dragon nodded, "Yeah! They appear right next to her, so she can read them as soon as they show up."

Scootaloo found herself well in eagerness's grip as she asked her next question, "So you send letters like that to her all the time…does she answer back?"

"Yes. Though she is very busy, so she can't always respond right away." The faithful student answered, "Usually within the day, however, she sends a something back."

"She responded pretty quickly when I sent that letter when you were-" Spike found that a new scroll clad in a reddish aura was quickly crammed into his mouth.

"Oh Spike, I think you need to reorganize the fiction shelf again." Twilight laughed and gave him a soft shove off with her forelegs. He acquiesced, though not without grumbling around the paper in his mouth.

The mistress of the library turned back to her young guest, "That does remind me: if you feel like you've learned a lesson about friendship, we'd be glad to write a letter for you."

Cheerilee interjected with a proud smile, "With all she's learned about penponyship in my class, I'm sure she might be able to write such a letter herself."

What had once been a small, hopeful idea began to grow into a great plan as the mares spoke, and it seemed more and more possible with every word.

"Oh. If she's been learning to write, then there's no need for her to have to dictate it to Spike." The unicorn leaned in to whisper, "It's more personal when you pen the letter yourself."

Scootaloo tried her best to not sound too anxious, "Actually, yesterday, I learned something really important about friendship! Could I write one?"

"Of course!" Twilight Sparkle lit up with such excitement as she showed her guest over to a desk, offering her a fresh scroll and quill. The ink well nearby was nearly full.

She turned back before she left the filly to her work, "When you're done, just roll it up and leave it there. I'll tell Spike to send it."

Left alone, the pegasus took up the quill in her teeth. It'd be hard to write without a pencil, but she knew she could do it. The one person who even her mother could not argue with was the Princess herself. If the Princess decreed that Scootaloo was to stay here, then not one word out of Crimson Brush's mouth would make a difference!

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_I learned yesterday that even if you were a really good friend and things were going well for you, your family can tear you away from everything you care about. My father doesn't care enough to say anything about my mother making us move, and my mother thinks Canterlot is the best place in the world, but she doesn't care enough to ask me how I feel. I told her that I wanted to stay and she talked to me like I was three. She doesn't care about anyone's opinion, she just does whatever she wants. I hate that._

_Anyway, it'd be really nice if you could let me stay here while my parents go to Canterlot. I don't want dad to be unhappy or anything, but I'll be unhappy if I go there._

_I don't know what else to do. I want to be happy, and my parents don't care about that._

_Please help,  
>Scootaloo<em>

Her thoughts were bitter and her strokes sloppy as she wrote her letter. Despite it all, she managed to finish without too many messy marks and crossed out words. Uneasily, she rolled the scroll up and stepped down from the desk. Princess Celestia would make everything okay once she got the letter. The filly was confident about that much as she strolled past the mares and out of the library, barely muttering a goodbye.

For some reason, though, she felt edgy as she mounted her scooter and rode away. She assured herself, hooves shaking, that she'd feel better when it was all over…


	8. The Ideal Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.**

**Notes: Feels like my fingers are alight as of late.**

**Lost and Found**

**Chapter 8: The Ideal Day**

Scootaloo slid to a stop outside of Sugarcube Corner. There was nothing to do, but her parents wouldn't know that school had been cancelled. This place was starting to become a safe haven for her. That predictability would be her downfall. If she ran, she'd need another place to hide…

Even if Gilda or Pinkie Pie didn't rat her out, she had practically spent her weekend hiding out there. Somepony would catch on before too long.

Still, the letter would fix all of that, right?

As she thought back to the letter, though, more worries popped up. The Princess was going to read every sentence and every word. Princess Celestia: the mare who was the mistress of the sun and ruled over Equestria. If she took one bit of displeasure with that letter…

The filly shook her head. How could Celestia get mad at her? It was _her_ job to fix situations like this! After all, it was her sister that had gave Crimson Brush the dumb idea to take her family to Canterlot Castle!

Satisfied that she was right and just, Scootaloo headed into Sugarcube Corner. Now, she just had to wait for everything to work out. After school hours were up, she could go train with Rainbow Dash and forget all about her home problems.

A cupcake and a long drink of water would ease her troubled thoughts.

Stepping into the bakery, she saw Fluttershy standing in front of the counter.

The timid yellow pegasus startled as the bell on the door rang. Her startled moment concluded briefly, worry for something far larger overcoming her anxiety with the here and now, "Oh…I don't know what to do, Pinkie Pie. Gilda seems so on edge during the examinations, and I feel like she isn't telling me something."

Pinkie Pie nodded from her spot behind the counter, "I don't think Grumpy Old…"

A brief giggle broke that sentence in two as the sapphire eyed earth pony noticed their guest, "She's not really so grumpy anymore. But I don't think Gilda is really the kind to talk about when she feels sad or hurt…"

Both of the older mares looked to the filly that had come into their midst, but the pink maned and soft spoken pony decided to continue the conversation at hand, "All we can do is keep an eye on her. I hope that nothing's wrong, and she heals up properly."

Pinkie Pie leaned across the counter to nuzzle her pegasus friend, "Don't worry, Fluttershy. I'll make sure Gilda gets back to shape and that her eggy weggy has a healthy mommy."

The action brought a smile back to the animal caretaker's face.

"Thanks Pinkie." Finally, she pulled away, "If you need me for anything, please send for me."

"Okie dokie lokie!"

Fluttershy departed hastily, barely whispering a hello to the youth in passing.

"Scootaloo-loo!" Pinkie Pie called out, a knowing smile on her face, "How are you-you?"

Trying to smile, Scootaloo replied, "Pretty good!"

"That's good." The party pony paused, looking under the counter, "Here for a chocolate cupcake before school?"

"Ms. Cheerilee cancelled today."

"Oh!" She brought up three cupcakes that bore more than their fair share of chocolate, "Then you should take these to your 'no school today party' with the other Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

"Pinkie Pie, I only really have the bits for one." She tried to refuse as the three were packaged up in a small carrying box.

Pinkie Pie insisted upon making it a gift, though, but Scootaloo felt like she couldn't leave it at that, "I'll pay you back."

"Seeing ponies smile is payment enough for me!"

Though Scootaloo was sure that Sugarcube Corner would go out of business on that kind of policy, she smiled for Pinkie (honestly this time) and took the box.

At least, now, she'd have an apology gift to give if her friends thought she was avoiding them.

Finding them would be the hard part since they probably wouldn't be at the clubhouse or at either of their homes. However, she had nothing but time and those cupcakes. If her friends were in town, she'd find them!

"Whoa there, kid!" Called the most awesome voice in Ponyville.

The fuchsia maned filly skidded to a stop as the cyan pelted pegasus made a soft landing right in front of her.

Her idol fixed her with a half-serious stare, "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

She laughed nervously, glad her excuse was real this time, "Ms. Cheerilee cancelled today!"

"Oh. So you're just roaming around with nothing to do, huh?" Rainbow Dash queried, scrutinizing her.

"Sorta…I was going to bring these cupcakes to Sweetie Belle and Applebloom!"

She grinned, "I saw your friends down at Sweet Apple Acres. I'll show you a pretty cool shortcut if you can keep up."

Scootaloo stripped off her helmet, setting her scooter, bags, and the safety gear aside. Last time, she had taken off from a window. This time, she had to take flight from the ground with aching wings while balancing a box of muffins on her back!

Trepidation stilled her wings as she stared up at her now hovering heroine.

The rainbow-maned flier looked down at her expectantly, "Remember what I said."

Finally, she nodded and spread her wings. Big flaps for lots of lift. Small flaps for control.

It wasn't how Rainbow Dash had said it, exactly, but it was the gist of yesterday's lessons.

Despite the aching in her wings, it was easy enough to get into the air. With someone teaching her, she wasn't half bad at this!

"Awesome! Now, try and keep up!" Rainbow Dash took off.

Unlike yesterday, this wasn't any walk in the park. It wasn't her top speed, but it felt very fast nonetheless.

Scootaloo needed everything she learned just to keep the older mare in sight! The Wonderbolts wannabe slowed herself down by doing some flips or tricks along the way, but the filly found herself falling behind before long.

A tall building forced her to ascend rapidly, but the box on her back didn't get the memo.

She felt it sliding as she made it over the pointed roof…but didn't turn around until it was already falling.

The plain hit the roof and started sliding down.

Scootaloo did the only thing that made sense: she dove right after it! At the rate she was going, she'd grab it and catch right up with Rainbow Dash!

After all, this was just a test to get better at flying! If she didn't push the limits, she'd never be worthy of going to Cloudsdale with Rainbow Dash!

She got her hooves on the box and flapped her wings to ascend, barely dodging the edge of the , she drew into a quick ascent to see where Dash had gotten off to. With the box in her hooves, her balance was a bit off, but, the extra effort pulled her through.

This was the same rush she got when she did the tricks on her scooter, but it was a thousand times more! The peril that had paralyzed her in her nightmarea was POWER as long as her wings kept moving!

Before she knew it, she was high above Ponyville! She couldn't find Rainbow Dash for the life of her, though.

"Hey kid! Keep up!" A streak of rainbow flashed in front of her eyes, racing on towards Sweet Apple Acres.

She knew she couldn't go that fast, but she'd have to try!

In the end, she barely managed to go even a little faster than the other day, and she ended up fighting to keep her altitude most of the way. By the time she saw Rainbow Dash waiting for her at the edge of the farm, she felt just as tired as she did after yesterday's workout.

Scootaloo sank to the ground some distance away, put the box on her back, and walked the rest of the way. Huffing and puffing, she made her way over to her heroine, who didn't seem any worse for wear.

Rainbow Dash grinned at her, "Where were you? It wasn't that far from here to there."

"It was, guh, it was…" The young pegasus waited for her breathing to normalize before continuing, "Halfway across town."

Her trainer took a ready pose, stretching her wings, "Well, kid, I hate to say it, but, it isn't that far if you pay attention to how you're doing things."

Another lesson was came and went, all the while she listened carefully.

Diving: the 'act of falling just the way you want to and doing it fast as you can!'. At least, that was how Rainbow Dash described it.

She did a few demonstrations in the open field they were in, before speeding off. The flier-in-training did not escape without a reminder to come by after school would have ended for more practice.

Eager to please, she nodded and agreed to be there. However, for now, she was more worried about meeting up with her friends.

She walked through the field and onto the nearby dirt path. If her friends were on the farm, they'd probably be closer to the farmhouse than anywhere else. She couldn't imagine that the Apple Family really needed to be working harder than usual today.

The strong harvest season wouldn't start for another few weeks, right?

Scootaloo shrugged her shoulders. Maybe she'd ask Applebloom later if she remembered.

She knocked the door to the farmhouse, stepping back in case Granny Smith came out ready to chase away 'door to door salesmen' or whatever she had taken to complaining about this week.

A big red stallion answered the door, his simple orange mane…seeming a bit shorter than usual.

Even though he smiled, he didn't waste words, "Hello there, Scootaloo. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle went out to the fields. They're off towards row six in orchard two, I reckon."

"Thanks, Big Mac!" She turned back as she started to leave, "Nice mane-cut!"

The filly was certain she heard an embarrassed "Eeyup." as she galloped away.

Tired as she was, she just wanted to get this little 'errand' done. The sooner she found her friends and smoothed over any grievances they might have gotten about her being absent over the weekend, the sooner she could go back to Crusading!

It was really row eight or row nine, but, at least the stallion had gotten the orchard right. Strangers and friends who were unfamiliar with the lay of the land was half the reason the rows and orchards were marked.

The other half had to do with just how massive the land was. Even with orchard two being one of the closer ones, she found her legs aching almost as much as her wings by the time she arrived on the scene.

She was treated to the rare sight of her two best filly friends enacting a tried and somewhat true scheme. Cutie Mark Crusaders Apple Buckers had never gotten one of them a Cutie Mark in the past, but Applebloom seemed so much more into it these days. She had been taking lessons from Applejack, and she was starting to get better at it.

Scootaloo thought it was pretty boring, but she'd rather spend the day apple bucking than waiting around alone or going back home.

She announced her own arrival by turning around and hitting a nearby tree with both hooves. Her own form was sloppy compared to her yellow pelted friend, but at least she didn't end up hurting herself like the white furred younger sister of Rarity.

They both noticed her at about the same time and ran over, "Scootaloo!"

The best she could do was hold out the box of cupcakes before they could get her into a dog pile of affection. As welcome as such a thing was right now, she really didn't want to let the cupcakes get ruined.

"How have ya been?" Applebloom asked eagerly as Sweetie Belle carefully snuck around to her side to give her a hug.

"It's been a long weekend without you, my fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders, but everything's fine now. I even got you guys a present."

Opening the box, she presented the contents…and was relieved that they didn't seem all damaged during her turbulent flights.

"Cupcakes!"

"Pinkie Pie's Super Secret Triple Chocolate Cupcakes!" The unicorn's much more enthusiastic reaction drew a couple of raised eyebrows from her associates.

"I heard Rarity and Pinkie Pie talking about it yesterday after they came back to the Boutique late. Apparently, they've got chocolate in the icing, chocolate chips baked inside, and some other kind of chocolate in there Pinkie wouldn't even tell her about."

"Golly!" Applebloom definitely seemed impressed, "These treats, girls, should be had with the finest juice! Let's hoof it back to the house!"

Scootaloo nodded, excited for the fun day that waited ahead. These delicious cupcakes were just the start! Her legs didn't feel quite so tired as she brought up the rear on Applebloom's charge back towards the farmhouse.

Everything was going back to normal, and she couldn't be happier.

As long as she had friends around, that nagging worry about the letter she had sent could rest.

Everything would be all right.

One celebration with a smuggled few mugs of good juice and a few hastily eaten cupcakes later, the girls were at a loss for their latest plan. It worried her, just a little, that they hadn't mentioned the clubhouse. Maybe they already knew and were worried that she didn't know?

That nagging thought was left alone, however, as Sweetie Belle outlined a plan that they hadn't tried out yet.

To be truthful, Cutie Mark Crusaders 'Siege Engineers' seemed like a pretty cool idea, in the beginning. And that book that Sweetie Belle had borrowed from the library yesterday had a whole ton of interesting diagrams. They stopped pretty short upon realizing just how much lumber and other stuff they'd need to make something like that. Even if they had the trees cut down and all the stuff ready, they'd need to do way too much math to make such a thing fire right.

Scootaloo was a little glad, because the diagrams that detailed assembly and manufacture made her head hurt a bit.

They went on with their usual routine; everypony coming up with ideas and forwarding them to the group. Some ideas were better than others, and some even seemed like they were working before they failed.

Sweetie Belle had one last idea when it seemed like everypony else was at a loss, however, and it made the orange filly grin.

Cutie Mark Crusaders Rocket Car Riders!

Applebloom built the carts out of no longer used farm equipment and had learned a pretty easy method of making fuel from one of Zecora's books. Coincidentally, the flowers grew in Ponyville, and she had found some of the special soil in the Everfree Forest. She had taken it home for just such an occasion, in fact.

Scootaloo didn't know how in Equestria flowers and soil could ever make fuel, but, she wasn't about to ask too many questions.

Besides, she was more fixed on getting the Rocket Car to work! On the straight path away from Ponyville, she'd have plenty of room to put the pedal to the metal! After the time it took to assemble all of those carts and make their parts work right, that was the greatest reward for her patience and hard work!

As it turned out, that worked out pretty well for the first hill or two. Around the third or fourth one, the young daredevil felt a warmth building underneath her feet and then smoke burst forth from underneath the hood! At first she didn't panic, but when flames started to lick out from underneath the hood, she pulled the Cutie Mark Crusaders Emergency Ejector Switch!

It was a shame that the car had to go and explode like that, but at least she got out before it did! As she jumped clear of the seat and dove towards the ground, she heard her friends gasp…until she flared her wings. Then, they made sounds of amazement, which fell away into gentle giggles as she tripped over her own feet and ended up face down in the dirt.

She managed to get back on her feet pretty quickly.

"Wow! You learned how to fly!" Sweetie Belle seemed most impressed.

"So that's what y'all have been doing this whole weekend! I was wondering why RD didn't come down to the farm all weekend."

She looked up at the sun, nearly gasping as she realized just how late it had gotten. Still, Scootaloo knew she had to keep her cool!

She took a confident pose, grinning, "That's right. I've been learning from the best pony in all of Ponyville, and it's looking like about time that I get going to learn more! See you guys later."

"See you at school tomorrow!" Her friends waved as she walked away.

Scootaloo made it to the schoolhouse just in time to see Rainbow Dash relaxing on a nearby cloud.

She opened her mouth to say something, but decided better of it.

No, the fledgling pegasus had a far more interesting idea.

Taking off, she flew up to the cloud and carefully set herself down on it. There was precious little room on the tiny piece of white fluff, but she knew well how to balance from her scooter tricks. She also knew that she had precious little energy left for hovering; at least if she was moving, she could think about where she was going to fight off the urge to succumb to gravity.

Scootaloo tapped her on the shoulder, and the older pony turned around to look at who was bothering her. Seeing her student, she grinned, "Good. I was going to have you fly up here for test one. You passed. Test two, get to my house as fast as you can."

They took off, the teacher taking the lead again. Cheered up a bit by 'passing' the first 'test', she fought to keep up with Rainbow Dash. It was hard to do; her speed just didn't match up with her idol's, even when she dove.

She'd have to find out how to improve her speed, or else this kind of test would never be productive. Even if it'd take years and years of practice to get as fast as the Best Young Flier, she knew that hard work could get her there. Just yesterday, she hadn't even been confident enough to take to the skies! Now, she was on the fast track to success!

And the fast track to the ground, she realized just in time to flap her wings and make the final ascent to the 'yard' of the cloud house.

The tired pegasus set herself down right in front of a waiting Rainbow Dash, exhausted.

"You could have done better, but I haven't taught you everything you need to know." She patted the filly on the shoulder a few times, "You've been putting in the work, but now you have to come inside and get your learn on."

The fuchsia maned youth had had a feeling that she wouldn't be missing out on school without some kind of lesson. Still, if the cyan flier was going to be teaching her things, that meant that she'd have some time for a breather.

She needed a breather like she never needed on before. Her wings were on fire; the old ache quickly growing into a pain that made the one from yesterday seem like nothing.

Still, she got to rest and relax through a lesson that would hopefully make future flights even easier, and she knew she was lucky to have Rainbow Dash's attention. The lesson was a little boring, to be truthful (though Dash admitted that it was pretty cut and dry), but it was quite edifying. Maybe, next time, she'd be able to keep on Dash's tail with her new knowledge!

"One more thing, before you go."

Scootaloo felt the ache in her wings growing as her beloved teacher stood there, prepared to reveal what could be the hardest test of the day. To be truthful, she wasn't sure if she could even handle doing the first 'test' again. Her ability to continue this training could rest on what came out of that light blue pegasus ace's mouth!

"Take it easy tomorrow, okay? The next day, you'll feel better and be ready to train hard." Rainbow Dash stared at her seriously, before breaking into a grin, "Hopefully, some Cutie Mark Crusading will be easier on your wings."

Scootaloo felt a lot lighter when she heard that. She felt like smiling and jumping and cheering like Twilight Sparkle had when she had accepted Princess Celestia's offer to…

Her smile faltered a little at that memory. A specter haunted her thoughts; what if the letter did cause something to go wrong, and Princess Celestia blamed Twilight for letting her send it?

The egghead, for all of her boring stories and flaws, didn't deserve that!

The orange filly choked the guilt down, knowing that she had done the only thing she could have.

A more than a few excuses for this smothered that specter: Princess Celestia wouldn't blame anyone for her doing the right thing, Princess Celestia would forgive her student, Princess Celestia would scold her parents if she felt the need to scold anyone, and there was no way Princess Celestia could ever look down upon her or anyone else for what had happened but her parents.

"Kid, you all right?" She waved a hoof in front of the foal's face, "You dozing off on me?"

"Yeah. Sorry. Thanks for the lessons, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo hurried out of the house and slowly descended back to the earth below. She wished that she had more to do, but it looked as if she'd have to go home to her family for tonight.

It was starting to get dark, and she felt herself wanting to take the longest road home. It'd probably worry her parents, but she had an alibi this time: she was out with Rainbow Dash learning how to fly and she needed to bring her scooter and bags home.

Her father wouldn't like to hear the first part of that excuse, but she didn't have to please him!

Her father had never really liked flying, especially when she brought it up.

She sighed as she finally came to the spot where she had abandoned her gear. Thankfully, Ponyville was the kind of place where stuff left laying around didn't go missing if it wasn't in anypony's way. They had been moved up against someone else's building, though. She was thankful for that much.

As her aching wings propelled her swiftly toward her home, she wondered what her father would say as she opened the door. She wondered if her mother would even still be there. That foolish artist might have ran back to Canterlot to 'prepare' for their arrival.

Scootaloo snickered as she approached her home. Her mother would be in for a rude awakening once Celestia responded to that letter. Dismounting, she set the scooter down and headed inside.

"Guys, I'm home!" She called as she turned to shut the door behind her.

A booming voice answered her, "Welcome home, young Ms. Hopper!"

Scootaloo's heart skipped a beat and her breath stalled dead in her throat. She knew she recognized that voice from somewhere, but she knew that she didn't want to turn around to see it owner.

The young pony yelped when she looked to who had greeted her. A coat as dark as the night sky, and a mane which flowed like stars dancing across that sky. With her wings spread wide, the winged unicorn was taller than the wounded griffon, if not as broad in body.

That voice softened considerably, but those blue eyes and indifferent expression did not, "We need to talk about a certain piece of correspondence that was sent to my sister earlier."

She trembled where she stood, barely staying on her feet.

It felt prudent to stall, if even for a moment, "C-could I get you something to drink?"

"If you could get me a glass of water, I would be most grateful."

Scootaloo scrambled into the kitchen to get a breather. Panic began to grip her. She hadn't planned for this! What had happened to her parents?

Were things going as she had hoped? Or was Princess Luna here to punish her?

Why did Princess Luna come when she had sent the letter to Princess Celestia?

So many questions…and the glass of water was overflowing. Turning off the faucet, she carefully carried it back to the dining room. Nervously, she turned over the glass and invited the Mistress of the Moon to come into the living room to sit down. By that point, she had finally remembered to bow, but was told to rise as soon as she did.

The Princess's manner betrayed no emotion. It was impossible to gauge her intent.

Once they were seated in the living room, directly across from each other, there was another delay as the Princess sipped her water and set it down.

Scootaloo couldn't help her anxiety. It was not every day that one had a Princess for a houseguest. It was not every day that such things were unannounced.

Luna looked down at her, one last time, and spoke after her subject refused to break the silence, "I trust you haven't forgotten. The letter arrived just this morning by dragon-fire."

"Yes." It took the scooter virtuoso a moment to realize her mistake, "I mean no! I haven't forgotten."

"You seem confused." The Princess continued, "I trust that you did not know what you requested when you sent that letter."

The young pegasus didn't know what to say. She thought she had said it pretty clearly.

She nodded resolutely.

"Then allow me to paraphrase what claims you have made." The letter appeared in a flash of dark blue light and unfurled itself before the winged unicorn's eyes, "My father doesn't care enough to say anything about us moving. My mother thinks Canterlot is the best place in the world and doesn't care how I feel. I hate how she just does whatever she wants. I don't want to go to Canterlot with my parents, because I'd be unhappy there. I want to be happy, and my parents don't care."

The letter was curled up and set down by that same navy blue energy.

Luna looked right into her eyes, "Do you affirm that all statements I have stated are as they were written by you, interpreted by me as intended by you at time of writing, and are the truth both as you see it and as the truth would be?"

Scootaloo nodded, "Yes. I told the truth, and I'd tell it again."

"Then it is declared as fact! Your parents are unfit to parent you by your claims and your father's own admissions!" The Princess proclaimed, "As such, you are free of the parentage of Windy Hopper and Crimson Brush!"

The filly gasped, a smile forming on her face. It was too good to be true! Her parents couldn't stop her from going on with her life!

Everything was going to be okay.

"However," Luna paused for but a moment before proceeding calmly, "as you are a filly who lacks her Cutie Mark and enough years to properly care for herself, you are now a ward of the throne. As such, you will come with me, immediately."

Scootaloo's eyes widened as those words hit her ears. The eager energy turned to terror, and she bolted.


	9. Enter Night

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.**

**Notes: This chapter took an age and a half to finish, and at least 10000 words got the axe. Been through twenty drafts. It's been one heck of a journey. Here's the destination.**

**Lost and Found**

**Chapter 9: Enter Night**

Scootaloo was a pretty good runner when she was scared. She was much, much faster on her scooter. However, as soon as she was up to speed, the Princess of the Moon appeared in her path. Pulling hard to the left, she increased speed!

Her wings burned from the exertion, but she knew that she could get away from some stuffy old monarch who spent all her days in Canterlot castle!

Suddenly, Princess Luna appeared again, but she slid hard to the right.

The frightened filly frantically flapped her wings as furiously and fast as she could.

Her scooter was faster than she could be while flying, but she needed it to be faster!

The winged unicorn tried to block her off, but she made a hard turn to the right…RIGHT TOWARDS SUGARCUBE CORNER!

She hit the brakes a little too hard, and her hooves left the deck. The last thing she saw before impact was the front door of the bakery welcoming her.

Scootaloo caught the door hooves-first and crashed through it. When all was still again, she laid on her back. For all the reasons to keep running, she didn't feel like getting up. Fatigue washed over her.

A loud gasp pierced the air, followed by a joyous voice and the springy bouncy steps of a pony entering the room, "Wow, Scootaloo, that must have been a great trick to tear the door right off of its hinges! Was Rainbow Dash teaching you an aerial remount dismount loop-day-loop?"

Pinkie Pie's hyperactive eccentricity was meant with a groan, "Pinkie Pie, is my scooter okay?"

"Yep! Princess Luna brought it in for you!"

For a moment, the room was absolutely silent. Even Pinkie remained still, despite her smile.

"Princess Luna! It's been so long since Nightmare Night!" The earth pony exploded in joy, "How have you been doing?"

The fuchsia maned filly sat up and quickly turned around to see that this wasn't just a delusion of the silly pony. Right next to the wall that her scooter was propped up against stood the Princess herself!Her breath caught in her throat and her limbs trembled uselessly. There was no escape! The revelation held her in place.

"To be truthful, Pinkamena Pie?" Princess Luna sounded so serious, but she laughed a little and broke her stern mask in two only a moment later, "I'm doing just fine. Are you well, Pinkie?"

"Oh I'm better than well! I'm watching the bakery by myself and helping all of my friends!" Pinkie Pie strode forward and grinned at the Princess, bouncing up and down in place, "What are you doing here? Did you come for a party? It'd be a bit impromptu at this point, but I can throw a party any time and any where with my party cannon."

"I regret to say that I can't oblige you today. I am on Royal Duties."

"Royal Scooter Returning Duty?"

Luna became serious again, pointing towards Scootaloo, "This young mare's parents have proven unfit to parent, so I'm taking guardianship of her."

Pinkie Pie turned back to the youth in question, frowning, and then back to Luna. For several seconds, her expression wobbled on her face, and she had to fight to make her blue eyes stop betraying her shock.

Finally, she spoke, and her voice was absent of that great happiness that had been there only moments ago, "Uh…Princess, could I ask for something?"

"For you, Pinkie Pie? Anything I can grant."

Nervousness sped the words from her mouth, "I have a spare room here, so you could just let her stay with me, right?"

The littlest pony smiled, thrown from her despair by that small bit of hope.

The Mistress of the Moon frowned, "Equestrian law binds me to take her to Canterlot for at least two days."

The general mood in the room hit the floor as she paused, choosing her words carefully.

The self appointed party pony cut her off with a hopeful smile, "But doesn't Equestrian Law mandate that if some pony, griffon, dragon, zebra, or other peaceful citizen or traveler asks, the current edition of the Book of Equestrian Law be shown to prove the good will of the law enforcement officer and to ensure that Equestrian Law is carried out properly?"

Princess Luna stopped, blinking a few times, "That's absolutely right."

Scootaloo's grey eyes lit up as she turned towards Pinkie Pie to hug her as tightly as she could. It was then declared that they would walk to the Library and consult Twilight Sparkle's edition.

Along the way, the question of just how Pinkie knew about the law came up.

She giggled and replied, "I studied law while I spent two weeks in the Appleoosa Pokey for illegal party favors!"

The look that the Princess and the emancipated child shared told it all.

Sometimes, there just wasn't any explaining Pinkie Pie.

Their arrival at the Ponyville Library was quick enough, though the Princess did stop to raise the moon. The lanterns were still on inside the tree-building, but they didn't see any signs of the residents.

"Equestrian Law, hm, it should be…under E." Princess Luna retrieved the book quickly with her magic, "Section 9, Parental Rights and Custodial Laws…"

Scootaloo hoped as hard as she could as the pages began to turn under the ruler's navy blue aura.

"Ah, here it is." The Moon's Steward cleared her throat, "A filly or colt who lacks their Cutie Mark is, barring significant proof of independence, is to be cared for by parents, who will bear the Rights and Responsibilities outlined throughout this chapter. If parents are absent or otherwise prove unfit, they may be replaced by relatives or any individual who proves worthy of parenting and is accepted by the child. If the parents are to be replaced this way, the relatives or substitute parents are considered parents for the sake of the Rights and Responsibilities outlined throughout this chapter, unless the birth parents return…"

She finally looked to Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo, then back to the book, reading several lines down. She shook her head, and flipped a few pages ahead, then a few pages back.

At last, Pinkie Pie looked over her shoulder, "What's wrong, Princess?"

Luna checked the cover and shook her head, "This book is the most current edition, but it makes no claims as to what makes a proper parent. The intent of this law was to allow a child to be adopted easily by relatives or neighbors in time of need, but its wording implies that there is actually a standard that proves if someone is a worthy parent."

"I'm really independent!" Scootaloo insisted with an irritated frown, "I barely spent any time at home, and dad was always asleep, anyway!"

"By letter of law, you are not…"

The young flier had to bite her tongue. She wanted to tell the Princess just where to stuff the letter of law, but she knew that was a bad idea right as she thought of it.

After a few moments, she had something smarter to say, "But if I can find some pony who would take me in, who is a 'worthy parent', you'll let me stay in Ponyville?"

"By law, if you accept them as a parent, anypony willing and able to care for you is as much your parent as those who brought you into the world." She nodded seriously, "For now, it is far too late to begin such a serious endeavor. I will stay here in Ponyville with you, and the search will begin tomorrow."

"Two slumber parties in three days? Yay!" Pinkie Pie's cheer came back as she led them back to Sugarcube Corner, "And tomorrow, after we get you a parent, we'll have a party, too! Three whole parties in three whole days!"

Scootaloo couldn't help her own happiness. All she had to do was find somepony cool enough to take her in? Just when the door was about to close, it opened up again. This time, she was going to get her hoof in it and not let it fall shut.

All because of Pinkie Pie, she had one last chance to save herself.

The pink earth pony got another hug once they arrived back at Sugarcube Corner, "Thanks so much, Pinkie Pie, you saved me."

She just smiled and nuzzled the younger pony, whispering back, "Come inside, silly filly, I'll take care of the Princess while you check on Gilda, okay?"

The orange pelted pegasus headed up the stairs quickly.

A soft rumbling greeted her as she stepped onto the top floor, and she knew the griffon was asleep, safely.

To be truthful, she was pretty tired, and Pinkie Pie's bed had been pretty comfortable…

Scootaloo found herself sneaking into that bed and making herself comfortable. That purring in the air eased her quickly into darkness.

Downstairs, Pinkie Pie brought out a plate of cookies for the Princess. However, the latter stared at the door. A glow came over her horn and the damaged portal, and the door slowly floated back to its hinges. With a burst of energy, it swung softly shut, blocking out the ponies who had begun to gawk. They would have to settle for starting up the rumor mill in the morning, if they couldn't hear it from the mouths of those involved.

Turning back to the young baker, she accepted the food with a smile, "So, you're playing hostess to that griffon that nearly came between you and Rainbow Dash?"

For just a moment, the earth pony seemed surprised, but her smile returned, "So you heard?"

"There are no secrets from me in the night." Princess Luna smiled, a cookie floating off of the plate, "My sister would be proud that you are so forgiving, though she'd also be surprised that you can handle so much. Running a bakery, caring for a child and a wounded griffon, and the worst that happens is the door getting knocked off its hinges? Your management of this situation is very impressive!"

"That's very nice of you to say, really!" A frown set up shop on her face, "But I'm more worried about Scootaloo than I am about anything else."

The dark unicorn with a mane as dark as the night sky, stained with a hundred stars ate one of the cookies slowly, considering her words.

Finally, she shook her head, sending that glittering mane every which way, "We'll find a family for her, the issue is that she will have to like the family that would adopt her."

Pinkie Pie's frown seemed to have to no plans of leaving, "I don't know. It's hard to get over something like that, especially when you're young."

"I know. But she seems to be a strong filly."

"I know. I'll always worry about her a little bit, but we're going to help her find two ponies who will give her the love she needs." The self-appointed party mare of Ponyville allowed herself a small smile, "What did you do with her parents anyway?"

"Contrary to any implications I might have made," Princess Luna looked up at the stairs, "They are simply in Canterlot. Their wages have been slightly garnished to provide a stipend for the care of their child, but I do not think they need any further punishment."

"Do you think they learned anything from this?"

"I do not know, but I hope that this happening will help them all heal. Maybe, one day, they'll be able to put this tragic background behind them, and be a family again."

They both fell silent.

The younger mare could only contemplate the horror that she would feel if her own foal was snatched from her. When Scootaloo had been missing, she had worried so much.

She thought back to what she said earlier.

Even with all of the trouble that the Cutie Mark Crusaders could get into, she was sure that parenting the orange, athletic filly wouldn't be so bad. It'd be far easier than bearing foal for so long, delivering, changing all of those diapers…

She wondered how the Cakes were going to deal with their baby.

Mrs. Cake, after all, would deliver within the month.

Glancing back to Luna, she noticed that the Princess was enjoying cookies rather than noticing her reverie.

Uneasily, she also took a cookie. These thoughts were a waste of time.

No matter how cute babies could be, she needed to be focused so that she could help the pony who needed her right now.

"Pinkamena," A soft voice broke through to her thoughts, "Scootaloo has been gone for quite a while, hasn't she?"

The look of concern was returned, "Let's go check on her."

They ascended the stairs swiftly.

Pinkie Pie did not see it at first, but Princess Luna saw it clearly through the darkness. The young pony they had worried so much was resting peacefully beside the griffon.

"It's been an age since I've seen a griffon and a pony so comfortable near each other…since before the Great Griffon War." She marveled for several moments, before yawning softly.

Though she wanted to stare on forever at just how adorable this was, she had been up since before sunrise, and the day's excitement was catching up to her.

A heavy yawn passed her lips, "I think it's time we go beddie bye too."

"I agree, Pinkamena." Though the Princess had persisted this far without showing much weakness, she really sounded exhausted.

The last of the lights on in Sugarcube Corner finally went out and, at last, the last of the chattering gawkers had to walk away. Whatever chance there was for sweet gossip had vanished into the darkness, and they had their own family and friends waiting for them.

The earth pony and winged unicorn settled into bed together, thankful that the Cakes had not spared any expense on their bed…

Upstairs, Gilda felt a prodding at her side as she laid in bed. Groaning, she reached down to stop whatever this was from pestering her.

A soft whimpering broke the air before she could shove the problem away.

Sighing, she scooted over, pushing the prodding limb back, and reached her foreleg out to draw the much smaller body near her. Anything to stifle that noise and get back to sleep.

Whatever it was that had been bothering the filly, she seemed to be at peace once more.

The griffon's whole body still ached. Fluttershy's medicine was starting to wear off again. Thanks to Scootaloo, she was left awake in this noiseless darkness, stuck with pain and a child. To be honest, if it wasn't for the pain, this would be pretty comfortable.

Sighing, she laid her head down and tried to fall asleep. If only all days could be painless and peaceful as this.

As that thought crossed her mind, her eyes snapped open. What in the world was she thinking?

The high points of her life couldn't really consist of talking to some kid and laying in this false nest like some sort of miserable den mother! No, the real absurdity was that she thought this boredom was something to strife for! A true griffon needs excitement in her life, not fillies and eggs to play nursemaid to!

She tried to stand, growling at her absolute weakness. Her golden eyes fell on the child near her as another whimper broke the air. Even with just the moon light, she could just barely see that face twisted with worry.

The sight stabbed at her heart.

Had Scootaloo really noticed the separation? Had she really become so comfortable there that the simple change of position in one limb could bother her so?

Warring with herself in silence, she laid back down and gave the filly's mane a gentle stroke.

Despite all her objections to this situation, she felt that it would be better to just settle in.

It wouldn't do to have a young pony having night terrors. It'd be even harder to get to sleep with the screaming, and everypony else in ear shot would be wondering what was happening. They'd likely blame her, just as they did before.

Rainbow Dash would probably take their side, too, if she saw that her precious student was crying 'because of her'.

She'd be lucky if they didn't throw her out on her tail end right away and throw the egg out with her.

The mental image of that white shell shattering upon the dirty trail out of Ponyville made her breath catch in her chest.

Gilda wondered just when had she gotten so paranoid. Laughing quietly as she laid her head down, she assured herself that that wouldn't happen even if she did leave. They'd probably be stern with her as if she had actually done something wrong, but they had let her stay this time. Even Dash wouldn't be able to just throw her out, not while she had a chick to care for.

No longer worried about that, she glanced down at the young pegasus beside her. A small smile rested on that adorable face.

The unwilling guardian couldn't bring herself to move.

Tomorrow, she assured herself, she would rise and act as the second coolest thing to come out of Junior Speedsters' should. The ponies in Ponyville would see her and not think of her as some injured, tired young mother, but as a daring ace of the skies!

Tonight, she swore in silence that she would stand vigil over this child and ensure that her rest would be peaceful

Gilda didn't know what had Scootaloo whimpering like a lost puppy, but she didn't really care. If all it took for her to be quiet and to sleep through the night was for a warm body to be beside her, she could tolerate that.

Just for one night, anyway.

The faintest word was uttered as the griffon succumbed to sleep.

"Momma."

The darkness snatched that sound away, as Ponyville gave in to the silence.

For one night, all was at peace.


	10. Gilda's Gambit

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.**

**Notes: This chapter…I'm not so sure about this one. I think it's sound, but I've been putting in work lately so I've not had so much sitting around time to deal with it. I hope it pleases and that the next chapter gives me more confidence.**

**Lost and Found**

**Chapter 10: Gilda's Gambit**

At least, for most of the night, all was at peace. It seemed that things were not meant to last that way, at least for one resident of Ponyville.

Gilda gasped as she came back to the waking world. Eyes clenched shut, she resisted the urge to scream.

The pain…that accursed pain had taken a hold of her!

Fluttershy's medicine had worn off before, but she had fallen asleep stretched out, and her body just wasn't in the mood for that right now. Despite the shy pegasus's insistence that she was drinking as much as was healthy, she was sure that this was no where NEAR enough to keep her feeling good.

Steadying herself on the bed, she sighed. The pain was memorable, but it didn't feel like she was bleeding or had anything ruined that wasn't ruined before.

The need to urinate, however, was all too present.

She hated life at that moment; nothing would have been better but to lay back down and let sleep take her back into its embrace.

Turning her eyes toward her bedmate, she realized the young pony was still asleep. No whimpering and no nonsense. That much was a relief in this trying time. With every step away from the bed and down the stairs, that pain seemed to tighten its grip. Still, the relief was well worth the journey.

Splashing some water on her face, she drank more than a few mouthfuls from the faucet. The water would help a little with the pain, hopefully. Even if it did not, at least her mouth would not be as dry.

Climbing up the steps was just as bad as descending, and only fear of waking up the kid kept her from flopping onto the bed. Even as she laid there as comfortably as she could get, the pain only grew as she realized that she had gotten worse. She shuddered to think about trying to fly in this condition. Her wings did not hurt like the rest of her, but one bad cramp or pulled muscle could be enough to gorund her again.

The griffon groaned; she was way cooler than this. A little pain had never slowed her or Dash down. Even when Rainbow Dash had been wasting her time helping Fluttershy back in their days in Cloudsdale, she did _not_ slow down.

The pegasus had never been with foal or in this much pain, though. She didn't know whether foaling or laying was easier, but she knew that both sucked.

One of the few things griffons and pegasi had in common was that they both screamed louder than any Everfree beast throughout the process.

Their old school instructor had flew throughout her entire pregnancy, and she only really gave it any thought at the end. To be fair, their school instructor was built like two Royal Guardstallions put together. The old joke was that she didn't even know she was pregnant until she was ready to foal.

Afterward, the rehabilitation had kept her grounded for about a month.

Gilda chuckled. She knew for a fact that the only reason Flight Sergeant Chestnut stayed down was to care for her foal, and that she would have been back in the air so fast that the doctor's head would have spun off if not for that tiny mewling creature. If she just had the same determination, she would be able to fly again, too.

The pain would fight her at every turn, but she _would_ fly again.

The thought did give her pause. Just as Chestnut had taken a month off for her child, she would have about that much time to herself before the arrival of her chick.

What would happen then?

Her knowledge of raising hatchlings was limited, and the ponies would probably know less. She couldn't just abandon the creature to the careless hooves of these ponies; that would be as good as putting it to death.

A growl rose up in her throat. All too quickly, she had become soft again. The blessing was absolutely necessary, but she really didn't need to care whether she or the ponies raised it.

She had more important things to worry about than whether the egg had ponies for parents or her; it'd end up getting raised in this Lame-o town, anyway. That aside, it would hatch when it damn well pleased and she would have plenty of time to finish her business before that time.

How could she prove her coolness if she let herself stay grounded before her time was up?

Just like she had sworn the last night, she would take to the skies. This pain would _not_ stop her. Sleep lingered out of reach, but she still laid her head back down. Putting her foreleg over the filly next to her, she tried to succumb to the night.

Despite her best efforts, she was trapped. A little filly on one side, the egg on the other side, and pain all around her!

Minutes and minutes spent in boredom nurtured an idea.

This was the only time of day she would have a warm body to put that egg beside aside from her own. Rainbow Dash hated waking up early, but she'd have to listen. After all that had happened, she'd get a claw in the door long enough to make her case. Even in the dark, her cloudhouse would be easy to find. It was the only one this close to Ponyville.

Every beat of her wings would probably cause the pain to grow, but it would be worth it. Sliding the egg across the bed and next to the pegasus filly, she put a sheet around it. Staggering toward the window, she sized up the gap. She wasn't quite as slender as a pony, but squeezing through was possible.

The pain was already back, but everything would be fine as long as she kept moving. If she stopped for a moment, she'd feel the pain and probably collapse.

Pushing herself through, she stretched her wings and leaped out. It took so much effort to stay airborne, but she knew she could do it. She had flown further when she was hurt and bearing her egg.

Maybe she was only twenty percent cool in Dash's eyes right now, but that would change.

When she finally made it to that all too familiar cloud home, she floated down to the landing and perched near the front door.

Gilda reached up to grab the pull string and took a deep breath. This was her chance.

One pull.

A soft tinkling broke the air. The idea of a bell string outside your door didn't make much sense to ground dwellers, but clouds didn't knock quite as well as wood. Clouds also didn't keep noise out that well…

Bells beat having somepony shouting at your door while you were trying to sleep in. That grey pony who had been in school with them liked to yell. She said that the bell wasn't loud enough to get anypony's attention.

The gruff speedster got impatient at the mere thought of that irritating intruder. Those thoughts and this long wait weren't making it any easier to deal with the pain.

Two pulls, this time.

It took an age and a half for the door to finally open.

Rainbow Dash's trademark, multicolor mane was barely visible in the low light.

"Yeah, what is it?" The pony rubbed her eyes, grumbling.

The words burned her heart a little bit, "Rainbow Dash, i-it's me."

"G-Gilda?" Rainbow Dash leaned forward, shaking herself awake, "What are you doing here?"

Gilda frowned, sensing the annoyance in that tired voice. She took a step forward, trying to put a smile on her face, "I-I just came to be with you, Dash. It's been so long since we've done anything together. You haven't had any time for me, and I've been so doped up on that stuff Fluttershy makes me drink…"

The hurt crept into her voice and she hated herself for letting it happen.

This was supposed to be a victory. If she treated it like a loss now, she would surely find herself going back to the bakery a failure.

Dash's voice softened, "C'mon in, G."

In the dim light, she knew well enough to just follow her friend. Cloudhouses tended to change furnishings often enough that relying on memory of the home alone would just be trouble.

The pony lit a candle and set it on the table, and the pair were able to sort themselves out on the same side of it. In the low light, she could see the worry on her friend's face. It made her feel like she was just making another mistake.

She knew, however, that she was too far in to cut out now.

The griffon smiled awkwardly, "It's good to see you again, Dash."

"Yeah, it's good to see you too." There had been so much good between them. They had been as sisters, but, now, they could barely look at each other.

The bond that had got them through hard times in Cloudsdale was practically gone. No matter how happy or friendly Dash had been during that all too recent slumber party, the past was not forgotten or forgiven.

The pain and fatigue had been too much for her to really be aware back then, but now she treaded carefully. One mistake could lay open those past wounds, and things could go back to being just as bad as they had been in that year of absence.

Gilda met her gaze. They looked at each other for the longest time, only breaking for yawns or to blink sleep from their eyes. They were both exhausted, and this just wasn't the time for a reunion.

So many ideas ended locked away in her head, forbidden from reaching her tongue. Words needed to be chosen so carefully. A lack of discretion had earned her the boot from Ponyville and Dash's life. She couldn't make that mistake again!

She had to break that silence, "So, uh, Dash…"

"Huh?"

She had to think fast now, "You wanna go flying, just like old times?"

That seemed weigh heavily on the Best Young Flier, and her response took an age to come, "Sure, G, let's do it."

It was a dumb thing to offer in her condition, but she couldn't go back on her word now.

They stepped out of the house and stared off of the edge together. The sun was beginning to rise in the distance. For the longest time, they just stared off the edge toward the sun's peeking they been sitting in silence that long? Or were the pony Princesses just choosing to cycle day and night right now? The world seemed like it had been conspiring against her lately; saddling her with the kid, putting her in Pinkie Pie's care, and keeping Dash away from her.

"Where to?" The taloned flier queried, staring out over the entire town. There were so many places to fly to.

"How about up to the mountain's edge, right over there? You think you're up to that?" Rainbow Dash's tone oozed with worry.

Gilda grinned, trying to hide her own concerns, "You just try to keep up."

With no more pretense, she took off as fast as she could go. This wasn't her max speed, but it was as close as she could get.

Her dear friend surged ahead of her, and she realized just how outclassed she was. Bearing the egg had made her weak, and her injuries were holding her back even now. Her confidence was the only part of her that hadn't gotten so injured…until now.

"_What's the matter, G? Can't hang? It's all right if you suck, it's not like a fat griffon can hang with a Wonderbolt!"_

Dash wasn't looking back at her, but the wounded mother could hear her friend's voice echoing in her head. That kind of special scorn two rivals had for weakness from each other.

She was never going to be a flip-flop again!

Rushing ahead through the pain, she barely saw the mountain path spring up before her.

A fast landing was the only choice at the rate she was going…

Aiming for just past the edge of the path, she gave her wings a few heavy flaps to try to slow her descent.

Her legs crumpled as she impacted the dirt path, and her midsection burned with an unreal pain as the rest of her caught up with her legs. Digging her talons in, she cursed her luck for landing on this uneven surface at such a fast pace.

A scream broke the air behind her as she tried to get up and the rainbow maned pony was quickly before her, "Gilda! Are you all right?"

The most Gilda could do was to look up and grin weakly, "I still got it, right, Dash?"

That smile made every second of agony worth it, "You still got it, G."

"Great. I think I can get up, just…let's go back to Pinkie Pie's. So I can sleep this of-off-awww-ow!" Trying to raise up out of the dirt was a mistake, and she paid for it dearly.

That pain wasn't just a momentary affair from a rough, but mostly safe impact. It was real and lasting, unlike all but the misery of the laying itself. The pain she felt when she awoke was a pleasant phantom compared to this!

"Gilda!" Rainbow Dash cried.

The griffon howled in frustration, the hurt washing over her. Words failed her.

It only grew worse as she was hauled up onto her friend's back, "Hang on: I'm going to get you some help!"

She wasn't in any state to object, but she knew it was going to hurt before it got better. The best she could do was to hold on. Even weighed down like this, the pace that the pony racer put on was nearly enough to throw her.

They were in the shadow of a large white building when they landed.

Rainbow Dash didn't stop. She pushed through a few doors, walking into a fairly open lobby.

'Gilda didn't dare speak objections that would fall on deaf ears, but she hated that she was going to be laid up even longer.

The receptionist freaked out almost immediately, hitting a call button and calling for immediate assistance.

A gurney was brought out in quick order by a couple of tired looking nurses. They loaded her up onto it quickly, ignoring her cries of pain.

The doctor followed them as they pushed it, and she heard him talking to her.

"What happened?"

Gilda was in no condition to answer properly, especially with nurses checking her over for injuries, "B-bad crash. Ah!"

She lashed out with her talons, but the nurse ducked the strike, "That hurts! Don't touch that, you idiot!"

"You brought her in, Ms. Dash, did you see what happened?"

The pegasus talked faster than she could have galloped, "She just laid an egg not that long ago, and we were flying, and she took a landing too hard! Is she gonna be all right?"

"I'll have to examine her to determine that, but, please, tell me further of what happened."

The explanation was hurried, and numerous questions were asked. The occasional pained screech or snarl broke their conversation as the nurses attended to the patient.

The questions ended as they paused outside a room with double doors, "Ms. Rainbow Dash, please don't worry. Every patient I've had has walked or flown out of this hospital."

"Dash…" Gilda gasped over the conversation and prodding of the nurses.

Instantly, she was by her friend's side, "Gilda, save your strength; you're gonna be okay."

"Go…go to Pinkie Pie's, get the egg!" She coughed, a little blood staining her beak.

"She may have internal injuries, doctor! We have to hurry!" The younger nurse interjected.

"You'll be able to talk to her later, right now, I need to examine her now!"

That nearly stopped the pegasus's heart. Internal injuries happened in serious situations. She had taken some injuries in her time, but she had never seen or suffered internal injuries. All she knew was that they were serious business. The fact that Gilda might be able to _die_ from one little crash was unthinkable.

She couldn't deny what could be one of her dearest friends' last wishes.

"Don't worry, G! I'll do it! You just get better, okay?" She cried as her friend was wheeled into that room, and the doors flipped shut.

She reversed immediately, only barely avoiding Sonic Rainboom speeds. No pony was around to get in her way, and she wouldn't have stopped if Celestia had stood in her path.

Sugarcube Corner was in her sights before anypony knew any better. This time of day was great for flying as fast as she could. No pony would get in her way. No pony could stop her.

Even with a relatively generous decrease in speed from its attacker, the door of Sugarcube Corner nearly suffered its second defeat this week. It slammed open as she slid to a stop and ran up the stairs.

A pink obstruction broke her stride, and she ended up in a two pony pile-up at the bottom of the stairs. She barely felt the impact, to be honest, and she barely noticed the laundry basket on her head.

Scrambling to her feet, she came face to face with a pony with a sheet over her head.

"Who's there? Are you the Laundry Bandit?" A worried, shrill voice broke out from under that white sheet.

They both removed their respective headgear, with the pegasus trying to press past the party pony with a 'stop wasting my time' groan.

Pinkie Pie smiled happily, "Hey Dashie! What's up? Have you seen Gilda? She's not here."

"It's a long story. I need to go upstairs and get something for her!" Rainbow Dash ran on by, not wasting a moment. Upstairs, she came upon the sight of the egg. A small, orange body was curled around it.

The sight might have made her smile if she didn't have to hurry.

Plucking the egg from its impromptu guardian, she flew toward the window. The sound of the filly stirring behind her was of no concern. She was going to see her friend through this.

Celestia's sun was rising, and there was no time to waste. Every moment she hesitated could be a moment that Gilda would slip away without her egg and her friend by her side. The rainbow streak across the sky was not a common sight this early, but the few ponies outside were graced by that sight.

Scootaloo, in particular, rubbed her eyes to see that streak fading away from the open window. More perplexing were the empty bed and the feeling that something had gone terribly wrong…


	11. Storm and Stress

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.**

**Notes: I wonder if listening to Disturbed is good or bad for my writing.**

**Lost and Found**

**Chapter 11: Storm and Stress**

Scootaloo shook off that feeling of dread. If even Gilda could be up and about right now, so could she! Carefully stepping over to the window, she looked out to see if Rainbow Dash was doing tricks in the early morning.

The skies were clear.

It must have been a dream or something.

A dream somepony has while awake…

The child's mind wasn't quite up to contemplating the higher mysteries of Equestria, especially with a hurried pink pony rushing into the room.

"Dashie already left…" She shook her mane, "Sorry, Loo-Loo, you missed her."

Disappointment and excitement fought for control of her expression as she glanced out the window again, "What was Rainbow Dash doing here?"

"Grabbing something for Gilda!"

"Oh." She glanced at Pinkie Pie confusedly

The confusion on her face melted away to a bold smile, "I dunno! Want some breakfast before school?"

"Sure."

Scootaloo was eager to find more of those really chocolatey cupcakes waiting for her, and she was not disappointed. After all that had happened, she really needed a pick-me-up. She munched through two or three of them quickly, and was surprised to find her backpack and scooter waiting for her along with the Princess of the Night.

"Young Scootaloo, you should hurry along. School starts soon."

She wanted to argue, but, she didn't feel like she would win. Instead, she tiredly strapped on her bag, took up her scooter, and rode off toward school at a slow and smooth pace, "Bye Pinkie Pie, bye Princess Luna."

It didn't take her long to come to her friends, the red maned and yellow pelted earth pony noticing her first as the white unicorn with the purple and pink, slightly curly mane sang softly nearby.

"Hey guys!" She rode over so they wouldn't rush her, "What's up?"

They looked over at her, the singing stopping. The pair exchanged a concerned glance.

Their worry did not go unnoticed, but they shifted from it fast enough for her to not dwell on it.

Sweetie Belle smiled nervously, "Hey, Scootaloo, how'd it go with Ms. Rainbow Dash?"

Applebloom interjected all too quickly, "Yeah, you learn any new tricks?"

The orange pegasus stood tall on her scooter, "It went awesome! I learned the Dash Dive-Bomb, and next time I'll probably learn something even cooler!"

It was a lie, of course, but she just couldn't tell her friends that she was just learning the basics. They knew she had trouble flying before, but they had never known just how much trouble she had had. After a few more lessons, no one would think she had trouble flying, ever again.

They chattered for a while, though Scootaloo got the sense that Sweetie Belle wanted to say something.

She avoided the looming and unspoken words, talking of made-up exploits with Dash. Most of them were just embellishments, really. Sure, she wasn't taught the Dash Dive-Bomb, but she saw it performed first hand, and Dash taught her an important part of the trick…

That's enough like learning it for her taste.

School would be hard enough without something interesting to talk about.

As they approached the schoolhouse, a pink earth pony with a tiara set across her purple and white mane stepped out from around a corner. Quickly by her side was a gray pony with a silver mane.

Their usual, arrogant greeting was cut off, by the farmer earth pony stepping forward, "What do you two want?"

"Oh, we were just walking this way, as well. It is no crime," The emphasis on the last word was just too strong to be innocent, "to walk down the streets."

"What's that supposed to mean, Diamond Tiara?" Scootaloo was no where near in the mood for her, and it took all of her restraint to keep her hooves on her scooter.

Diamond Tiara giggled all too unsubtly, "It's nothing."

Sweetie Belle glared, forming up with her friends, but didn't say anything. The middle of the road was now the only real divide between the two groups.

The trio held the right, the duo held the left, and those who would wander between their glaring would be entirely unmade if looks could do any harm!

Oddly enough, the grey pony said nothing, staring off to the left.

The scooter rider's temper heated up quickly at the thought that that was a quiet crack at them being blank flanks.

Did that petty little earth pony actually think she was clever just because she learned about those…metaphor and analogy things? It didn't matter what kind of clever wording she used! That jerky little rich pony was just a bully, and somepony cool enough to learn from Rainbow Dash was the somepony who should stand up to bullies!

Scootaloo jumped off of her scooter and stepped in front of Diamond Tiara, "What did you mean by that?"

"You should know, blank flank!" The rich pony stepped back, "Your-"

"Di-Diamond Tiara!" Silver Spoon interjected hastily, nervously stepping in front of her friend, "I-er…"

Suddenly, all eyes were on the earth pony who had stepped into the fray.

"We…all should really be getting to school, before we're late. Eheh-heh-heh."

The interference, however awkward, gave time for cooler heads to prevail.

Sweetie Belle stepped up, "She's right. Come on, girls."

Scootaloo glared after the arrogant rich pony and her awkward guardian, but turned away at long last.

Her friends ushered her away before she could make it into a real issue.

"That was pretty good, Scootaloo! They were scared stiff!" Applebloom brought her scooter up, "Maybe they'll think twice before they talk manure on you again!"

"Yeah, right." She didn't believe it, to be honest.

Even as she remounted her scooter, she felt like she had lost. The bully didn't get punished. Worse yet, she got to run away without explaining a thing.

Finally, she sat down in school…right next to Diamond Tiara.

So close to the answers, and yet they were so far away. Even if she tried to ask, she'd probably just get another cryptic answer back. Even if she did get an answer, that snobby pony would throw it back in her face. She'd make a joke about blank flanks having nothing to do but bother ponies with their cutie marks…

Attendance was called and no pony was as usual. Most ponies loved some part of Cheerilee's school days too much to skip; illnesses and vacations accounted for most of the absences.

Scootaloo, on the other hand, was one of those few ponies who would sometimes not show up at all.

Only sometimes, though.

The lessons could be so boring…and gym class didn't happen often enough, for her tastes.

The lecture about some stupid language rule began quickly enough, but Scootaloo found herself unable to pay attention. Her eyes were drawn to the pony beside her. In her ears, those stupidly cryptic words echoed throughout the minutes, drowning out most of the teacher's lecture.

Thankfully, Miss Cheerilee did not call on her. The lesson was short, and she quickly stood up from her desk, "All right, my little ponies! I know we missed this Monday's Family Appreciation Day, but I've decided to move it to tomorrow instead of pushing it back to next week. Next up was…Scootaloo."

That drew her eyes to the front of the room. She opened her mouth to object, the perfect lie growing in her head.

Diamond Tiara immediately began giggling just quietly enough to be heard by the pegasus.

That was the last straw.

"What's so funny?" Scootaloo turned on her classmate, rising up in her seat.

"You should know, Blank Flank! Your parents would rather get arrested than have to put up with you!"

"Diamond Tiara! What a thing to say!" Cheerilee stepped closer to chastise her student, also standing nearly between the two.

Instantly, that manner shifted from cruelly teasing to pseudo-polite, "I'm sorry, Miss Cheerilee, but I didn't want the young fugitive to bring her parents into the class room and break Celestia's peace…"

"That's no excuse to shout such discourteous words out of turn, and there is never an excuse to speak so poorly of another pony based on rumors alone!" The teacher's stern manner did not soften for a moment, "You owe Scootaloo an apology."

With a chime of 'Yes Miss Cheerilee', Diamond Tiara turned to face the wronged party and delivered the mandated apology.

Scootaloo accepted it reluctantly. This was all part of the game they were playing. She knew who had lost, judging by the murmurs she could hear just behind her…and the ones she couldn't hear.

She decided to sit down, for now. She could talk to Miss Cheerilee about her family after school, and then she could just skip going on Family Appreciation Day.

The teacher would have to understand the situation…

The entire class were assigned some group work, and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon conveniently sitting on the other side of the room, when the Cutie Mark Crusaders were confronted by their teacher.

"Scootaloo, I want to speak with you."

She acquiesced, a little glad that her friends hadn't had more than a few moments to inquire about all of this ruckus.

"I have to ask," Cheerilee took her outside of the schoolhouse, walking down one of the side streets, "Is Family Appreciation Day going to be a problem for you?"

Scootaloo looked up at her as indifferently as possible, "I don't really have any family I could bring in."

The hug was unexpected, but welcome and reciprocated, "Oh honey, I'm sorry. What happened? Is there anything I can do for you?"

Sighing, she briefly explained what occurred.

"I see."

The skilled scooter rider could only wonder what was on her teacher's mind as the situation was considered in silence for the longest time.

"Not in all of my teaching career have I had a situation quite like this, but I think I have a solution: I'm going to push back this assignment for you, but I want you to bring in one of your pony parents at your first opportunity, along with a short report about them written in your own words."

Scootaloo glanced at her curiously, despite her thankfulness for the small and strange favor. She wanted to ask a question, but couldn't think of how to word it in a way that wouldn't end in detention.

The last thing she needed was to spend even more time caught up in something boring.

"I know you don't like writing reports, but consider it a chance to bond with your new family, okay?" Cheerilee smiled warmly, "They'll want to get to know you too. You're a good pony, and any family would be blessed to have you."

The explanation didn't give her the words to answer properly. Instead, she just nodded dumbly and tried to smile, "O-okay."

"You're looking a little better." Giving the filly one last hug, the elder pony turned around, "Time to get back to class."

Though she dreaded going back to her spot next to Diamond Tiara, she knew she'd have to put up with it. The way things were going, she couldn't be too picky when some things went her way.

If Diamond Tiara didn't keep her stupid words to herself, though, she had a feeling that she'd be giving her what-for 'hoofo-a-hoofo' style. Part of her kind of hoped that Diamond Tiara _wouldn't_ keep her words to herself, just for the opportunity to put her in her place.

Scootaloo sighed as they stepped back into the school house.

"All right, my little ponies, we're changing the seating arrangement. Stand up and head to the front of the room, please!"

That would make the rest of the day a bit easier…

She wasn't near her friends, but Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were kept on the other side of the room. The earth ponies weren't complaining at the new arrangement reuniting them.

Lunch time arrived quickly enough, class going quickly enough even with the chattering around her. If she did her best, she could assure herself that they weren't talking about her as much as she thought…

"Scootaloo, are you all right?" Sweetie Belle asked her as they sat down together, words carrying a weight heavy enough to crush Celestia.

She sighed, "Yeah, I am."

Her bow wearing friend took a big bite out of one of her apples and glanced over at her as she considered her share of the meal, "So…"

"So…" Rainbow Dash's young trainee knew what was coming, and she simultaneously wished that she hadn't put this explanation off and could put it off even further.

Applebloom frowned, "What's been going on? You haven't told us anything about what's going on, and we've been hearing stuff."

Scootaloo sighed again, "I guess you knew everything before Diamond Tiara opened her big dumb mouth, huh?"

"Well, we're pretty sure Diamond Tiara was lying, at least a little bit," Sweetie Belle stated gently, "But, um, we don't want to make you talk about it if you don't want to."

The earth pony of the trio seemed to disagree, but she didn't say anything further.

She wanted to bring any speculation to an end, but laying bare the truth would have been far too much.

The disapproval of Applebloom and Sweetie Belle's worry were enough to force her to speak, but not without a glance around. Diamond Tiara was eating a fair distance away, distracted by some other ponies.

Satisfied no pony from the popular crew was listening, she went on, "Look. M-my parents went away to Canterlot, and I stayed here. Princess Luna's here to find me replacement parents so I don't have to go there too. That's all that's happening."

Her friends knew her better than that. They may not have known the truth for how well she hid it, but they could tell she didn't have the same familial bonds they did.

However, the pair shared a look and nodded, Sweetie Belle sharing her thoughts, "If that's what you say is true…that's good enough for us."

"Thanks girls."

She'd tell them more of the truth, someday. Right now, though, they didn't need to bear all of her problems with her.

Right now, her thoughts were just on the end of the day and getting her new family. The sooner all of this was behind her, the sooner she could get on with her life. She worried about that, truly, but she couldn't just talk about that…

How could her friends understand? What advice they could offer her? Rarity and Applejack were perfect sisters, and their family beyond those two did everything to make sure they felt loved. The one thing they couldn't share were their families.

Scootaloo made a point to talk proactively about their plans, telling them that she'd be busy with Dash and all of this until the day after tomorrow. That'd buy her enough time for this stuff to blow had a plan involving being tour guides, while Sweetie Belle had suggested something about learning how the construction worker ponies do their work. If they learned about how construction ponies did their work, maybe they'd be able to become Cutie Mark Crusader Siege Engineers, after all!

Better yet, the discussion kept her mind off of everything surrounding her…until lunch was over, and it was time to go back to class.

The school day came to an end quickly enough. Murmurs or no, it seemed like Cheerilee had cut it a little short. Still, no pony complained. Long or short, there'd be another day of school tomorrow, and no pony had to stay after for detention!She wanted to leave the classroom as quickly as she could, but many other students were in her way. There was no sense in shoving through. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would be close to the front. If she ran into them, she'd have to deal with them.

As far as she was concerned, she just wanted to get on her scooter and go away from everypony until this was all over and she could tell them about her new family. They'd all forget about the old one and everything would be okay.

If she took a step further past the door and toward the spot on the wall where she left her scooter, she would have ran clean into Silver Spoon.

That set her on the defensive pretty quick, "What do you want?"

The grey pony frowned, putting a hoof on her scooter to keep her from just going away, "I just-I…"

Scootaloo didn't know why the other pony was faltering, but she saw something she didn't like straight away, "Hooves off my scooter."

"I just want to say something…" The explanation faltered before those rough, four words.

She stepped forward, sticking her nose well into Silver Spoon's space, "That's not yours. Hooves off!"

Finally relenting, she stepped back, and the orange filly seized what was hers, "What do you want?"

Her patience was wearing thin, but she'd give her classmate the benefit of the doubt just this once. All throughout today, she had kept her mouth mostly shut while Diamond Tiara spoke her horrid misinformation and half-truths.

"Look, I know we aren't friends or anything and that'll never change, but…" She paused, floundering for the words, "Dia shouldn't have said that stuff to you. I'm sorry. I should have stopped her, or at least told her what she was going to do wasn't okay."

Scootaloo wanted to say something like 'darn right!' or 'why didn't ya?', but she felt a certain sincerity from the other pony.

Nodding instead of objecting or rubbing her nose in it, she stepped up onto her scooter.

"G-good luck."

The pegasus glanced back at the earth pony, curiosity overwhelming her, "What?"

Silver Spoon nervously kicked at the tall grass beneath her hooves, "With your family problems. And everything. No pony deserves to have those kinds of problems."

The sorrow in her voice was telling as she walked away.

Scootaloo waved lightly at her back, speaking just a few words before riding away, "Thanks. See ya later."

For once, she was thankful that Sweetie Belle and Applebloom rushed off home to put their stuff away instead of hanging with her right after school. It gave her time to think about everything…

To be honest, she didn't really know if this would mean anything tomorrow. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had proven to be full of manure so many times before, but something seemed different now. Maybe it was just the gravity of the situation that made even the cruel pony seem nice. Maybe she had been put up to it…

However, with everything else that was going wrong, she also wanted to believe that this was legitimate. She wanted to believe that Silver Spoon Diamond Tiara weren't just going to pull the proverbial curtain back and laugh at her for being so foolish.

She would kick both of their flanks if it came to that, she assured herself. The part of her mind that had wanted so badly to buck Diamond Tiara earlier today felt satisfied that it would get its due if she was betrayed.

Everypony in her life would probably tell her it was wrong, but they didn't have to put up with that insufferable snob!

The unhappy thoughts vanished, however, as she approached Sugarcube Corner. More nervous ideas started to appear in her head and to take her attention.

Did they already find families for her? Were any of them good? Would she only have one really bad family to choose from and end up just where she started? Would Luna take her to Canterlot and go back on her promise?

She finally reached the door and found herself still considering things so nervously. Despite her desire to see this ordeal ended, she could not bring herself to just go inside. Her dismount was shaky and her hooves felt heavy as she approached the door.

Pushing it open was the hardest part. Not that the door was heavy, but the fact that it took her not one, but three tries to even touch it!

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Princess Luna stood inside, a grave expression on her face.

It immediately set Scootaloo wary, "Hi, Princess Luna."

"Young filly, I do apologize, but recent events have forced me to halt the choosing."

"What happened?"

The Princess weighed her words carefully before she began to speak, "Gilda was out flying this morning, and crashed. The doctor just decided to take it to surgery: the operation should be beginning at any moment…"


	12. Looking Forward

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.**

**Notes: Finally back on the good computer. Finally back on a good word processor. I'm ready to go again. This chapter was a little hard to write, but, I think it turned out all right. Unlike the last one, I think it ends better.**

**Lost and Found**

**Chapter 12: Looking Forward**

Scootaloo rushed toward the hospital, her helmet falling to the floor behind her. There was no time to lose!

But she lost plenty when she nearly spilled to the ground as a pink obstruction entered the road. Too light to be Pinkie Pie, unfortunately, "What did you tell Silver Spoon?"

"I didn't tell her anything." She started to remount to scoot away, but she didn't get far.

"I know you told her something!" The rich pony shoved her off of her scooter and stepped on it hard.

The cracking of wood was all it took to set her off.

She jumped at Diamond Tiara, striking her face a few times. She reeled backwards under the assault and fell down.

The pegasus pounced on her and struck a few more times. However, she had made a mistake in getting on top of her foe. A quick strike to the stomach made her stagger away. Sobbing and clutching at her face, the snob rolled over and tried to get up.

Scootaloo winced and tried to get her breath back, stumbling.

When she looked up, she saw that Diamond Tiara wouldn't bring one hoof away from her eye and was looking around frantically for something.

That was when she noticed that her bully's head was a little barer than it usually would be.

The pegasus's eyes quickly found what she was looking for, and it only took one quick stomp to smash it. She grinned through the pain in her stomach as the other girl screamed in absolute shock.

She felt spiteful words leave her mouth all too quickly, "Serves you right."

That was when Diamond Tiara struck back. Her strikes were clumsy, but fueled by fury. The only good hit of the bunch caught her in the head, and she only knew it hit her there by the pain. Everything around her didn't make sense for a moment as she tried to get up. The world bobbed and danced around her, refusing to be pinned to one location.

She raised her hooves, blocking a few more blows as they just kept raining down. She couldn't even see where they were coming from, but she knew they were falling hard!

Another hard hit to the face struck home, but that was the end. Darkness crept at the edge of her vision, and she wondered if Gilda was all right...

Then, she woke up, head full of pain and the room all too bright.

The time between was gone forever.

"Scootaloo!" Cried two voices full of love and worry, making her wince her eyes shut in agony.

Somepony shushed them, and even that stung a little.

Scootaloo tried to lift her head, but the effort burned her as much as noise.

The world wasn't out of focus like it was before, though. Finally, she managed to sit up. Propping her head on the pillow helped a little bit.

"Miss Scootaloo Pie, can you hear me?"

That confused the young pegasus quite a bit, "My last name isn't Pie..."

"Ah, my apologies. We had assumed improperly when she checked you in. I need you to follow this hoof light with your eyes. Don't move your head."

Left...toward the empty wall of the room.

Right...toward Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, the privacy curtain behind them.

Back to the left.

Back to the right.

"You should rest until tomorrow, but I think you're going to be all right. The doctor will be by to look at you soon."

With that, the nurse smiled at her and walked out of the room.

Pinkie Pie smiled warmly as she stepped over, as did the pegasus with the many colored mane, "Loo-Loo, I'm so glad you're all right."

"Kid, don't ever do this again." Those stern words were quickly followed by a hug.

"I just got in a fight. It's not like..."

"Scootaloo, you were knocked out for the whole night!" Rainbow Dash held back tears, barely.

"Did I almost die?" That made her fall back.

Pinkie Pie was silent, trying to keep her smile in a sorrowful act of futility..

The elder pegasus turned away as tears rolled down her face, "We didn't think you or Gilda would make it."

"Did..." Scootaloo stopped, trying to sit up again, "Did she make it?"

No pony answered her for a moment.

The curtain slid back loudly, revealing a grinning griffon sitting up in her bed, "Talking about me like I'm not here...if you weren't so beat up..."

"Gilda!" Came surprised, yet happy calls from all, though the filly winced in pain as the volume heightened. No pony really noticed Pinkie Pie slip from the room.

"G! T-they-"

"They," Gilda grunted at the pain and fell back onto the bed, "Don't matter...we're here now."

In from the doorway exploded a white coat wearing, white pelted pegasus with a straight blonde mane, "By Celestia! Did I hear our latest patients awakening?"

Though Pinkie Pie could have easily outlasted and overpowered her with pure motivation, this doctor was more than a match for the tired patients.

Smiling happily, she patted Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash on the back. The former giggled at the doctor, and whispered something to her. She nodded and chuckled back before strolling over to the griffon, "And how are you, Miss Gilda?"

"I've been better."

She pulled out a clipboard, setting it on the endtable and scrawling at it with her quill,"I'm well aware, but I'm glad that you've finally awoken. Do you feel anything strange? Any unusual or sharp pains?"

A barrage of medical questions were laid down before she finally nodded and picked up the clipboard, "It appears that you're going to make a proper recovery, but we'd like to keep you around until your wounds start to heal. Is that going to be okay?"

Gilda groaned, but gave in when she noticed Dash's worried look, "Yeah, sure."

"Hello, Scootaloo Pie, I'm Doctor Goodly News, but most ponies just call me Surprise!" She giggled in a manner more befitting of a party planner than a doctor, "How are you feeling this morning, young filly?"

She didn't have the energy to correct the continued error, instead focusing on what the doctor might actually be able to fix, "I...hurt a lot in my head."

The doctor frowned, speaking more quietly, "Don't feel gloomy. You'll feel better soon, and I've got some special medicine for your head."

Though Scootaloo didn't know how a pill could possibly make her head hurt any less, she didn't want to refuse any chance of feeling better.

It went down smoothly in front of a bit of water.

"Well, my dear patients, I've gotta go! Doctor life is busy, busy, busy!" She practically vanished from the room in an instant, only poking her head back in for a few moments, "Call the doctors or nurses if you need anything!"

Rainbow Dash stared after her, perplexed but smiling, "...she's almost as random as you are, Pinkie Pie."

"Doctor Surprise is pretty fun!" Pinkie Pie grinned for a moment, before letting her frown take hold again, "Um...Scootaloo, there is something I forgot with all of this excitement."

Scootaloo just nodded, feeling a chill go over her. The sudden change was painful to watch.

She sighed, letting herself fall into thought.

Every pony watched with concern as the normally chipper pony started to walk out of the room, "Never mind. I'll talk to you about it later..."

The pink earth pony strode out of the room. With that, she was entirely gone.

The young pegasus could only look to the two daredevils in the room with her, "What's wrong?"

Rainbow Dash looked over at her, completely confused, "...I don't know."

To be frank, that was just something that most ponies didn't see in their lives.

Even Gilda could only shrug. Even she had not seen something like that happen. She had come close to injuring and killing Pinkie Pie with that gyrocopter thing, but she still had not seen a true sad frown out of her...

Pinkie Pie strode down the hallway, trying to think. Her mind was cluttered up with worries. The sights of both Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara in such a bad way. The former with her head beaten so badly, and the latter with her eye so damaged.

To be truthful, she couldn't have imagined that little filly hurting anypony so badly. She heard from some of the witnessing ponies that the event was not a one-sided affair; both ponies had participated evenly (though a few witnessing ponies insisted that Diamond Tiara was the aggressor).

She knew Scootaloo wasn't a bad pony, but it still gave her pause. If it weren't for this Gilda thing, she was going to ask Scootaloo to consider her as her new family.

Now, she was no where near as sure. Things were not as they seemed earlier, when everything was so easy. Worsee, she was now saddled with the worry that no pony would want a daughter who fought in the streets.

She stepped into the empty waiting room and sighed heavily, "Oh...why can't this be easier?"

"Because, young Pinkamena, being a mother is never easy."

Pinkie Pie nearly jumped out of her pelt, her frown only growing.

Princess Luna nuzzled her, "There are many rewarding moments, but you work for every last one of them. Are you prepared for that, Pinkamena? You're going to have to do the fun things, the hard things, and everything in between for her. You can't run, not like you are now. She's going to need you."

The earth pony stared up at the unicorn, trembling into her, "What if I mess up?"

The Princess wrapped her wings around the younger pony, "Most importantly..."

A brown pony wearing a tie and his black mane slicked back stepped in, "Princess Luna...Pinkie Pie, good morning."

"Your daughter's condition is better than it was last night, Mr. Rich." The winged unicorn stepped away from the earth pony, "The nurses said she asked for you before they took her to surgery."

"Thank you, Princess." He kicked at the floor worriedly, "Is the filly she fought with all right?"

"She's doing very well, Mr. Rich." Pinkie Pie nodded guiltily, "Could I see Diamond Tiara with you?"

"I don't see why that would be a problem." Filthy Rich nodded with a nervous smile, "Room 113 is just down that hall, right?"

"Oh, yes. It's right across the hall from Scootaloo's room!" She noted with surprise, "Let me show you the way."

"Thank you." He gave a light bow, "By your leave, Princess."

"Granted."

The lights were dimmed in room 113.

The bed closer to the door (the only occupied bed) held the sleeping filly. A bandage was tied across her left eye. Her mane was messed up, no where near its usual styling.

Filthy Rich stepped quietly into the room, taking a look at the chart. After a few moments of silent reading, his eyes widened. Breathing heavily for a few moments, he stepped over to stroke his daughter's mane.

"It's gonna be okay, Diamond Tiara. We're going to get through this."

Pinkie Pie was sure he said it more for himself than anypony else, but she hoped he was right. If he could help Diamond Tiara through this, maybe she'd be able to help Scootaloo through this.

"Miss Pinkie Pie, I do have a request of you. May I see the filly my daughter injured?" His sadness was a reflection of her own.

"Of-of course. She's already awake, though." After he had been so kind to allow her in here, how could she turn down that simple request?

"Oh. I won't be too long." Filthy Rich quickly clarified, "I didn't want to bother her."

They went across the hall.

Gilda gave the pony a disinterested look, deciding to just stay laying down. For his part, the rich pony did his best to not stare at the griffon. He couldn't help a glance, though.

"Filthy Rich. Thanks for hooking me up with that deal with the Cloudsdale Contractors." Rainbow Dash grinned his way.

"No problem, Rainbow Dash." The entrepreneur smiled back, walking over to the little pegasus laying in bed.

Scootaloo could only stare. Her pain had alleviated a bit thanks to the medicine, but she knew the pony before her was Diamond Tiara's father...

Her eyes darted to Pinkie Pie behind him, who nodded and smiled.

"Uh...hey...Mr. Rich."

"Are you all right?" He asked with a gentle smile.

She felt her worries shrink away, "Yeah...my head hurts a little bit."

"I'm glad that both you and her are fine." Filthy Rich looked to Pinkie Pie, before glancing back to the filly, "I know my daughter broke something of yours, and I will do my best to replace it for you."

Pinkie Pie stepped forward, "And we'll be doing our best to make up for what Scootaloo broke."

Scootaloo raised herself up to object, but she found two pairs of stern eyes fixed on her.

Rainbow Dash's amethyst eyes and Pinkie Pie's sapphire eyes focused in on her quickly enough that any objections stalled on her tongue.

Filthy Rich shook his head, however, "This is their time to rest and recover, and I will be glad to cover the value of what they both damaged while fighting. I think we can both agree that, for now, the fillies should focus on resting and recovering, and later we can worry about the punishment."

There was an edge in his voice that showed a lot more backbone than Scootaloo's father had ever demonstrated. The complaints that were stuck in her throat didn't come forward.

"That'd be best." Rainbow Dash nodded.

Scootaloo found herself nodding, though discontent grew in her while the words were unable to escape.

At last, the brown stallion looked at the resting filly, "I hope you get well soon. Good day, ladies."

When he was gone, the scooter virtuoso found herself glaring at Pinkie Pie, "Pinkie Pie, she started it! Why should I get in trouble?"

Pinkie Pie was silent, though she clearly wished to object further.

"She shoved me! I couldn't just let her beat up on me!" Scootaloo sat up, "Rainbow Dash, you wouldn't let a bully pick on you like that! You were ready to fight the bullies in your story, because they were trying to make fun of Fluttershy."

Rainbow Dash looked to Pinkie Pie, a serious expression on her face.

Finally, the pegasus stared at her intently, "I know you had to stand up to her, but you two really hurt each other...and you two were fighting for no pony but yourselves."

Scootaloo wavered in the face of her mentor's strong words, but so much fury held back set her aflame with passion, "But she's always been mean to me and my friends! No pony's ever stood up to her before!"

"And you did it the wrong way." Rainbow Dash insisted, not budging an inch.

The child knew she was right, but she didn't want to lose. Words stronger than she liked passed her lips, "So it's okay when you do it, but when I do it, it's wrong?"

"Kid, you don't know...what you're talking about." Gilda spoke up.

That stopped the argument for a second.

"Back in Cloudsdale, we lived with the kind of ponies who would beat you up without a second thought." She stated heavily, "Around this little lame town, even the weakest pony can feel safe. This kind of stuff doesn't happen. When Dash was ready to fight ponies, it was because Fluttershy would have caught a beating if somepony didn't stand up for her."

Scootaloo felt the fight drain out of her, as she laid back on the bed.

Pinkie Pie stepped back into the fight, "This...isn't the time to have this fight, everypony. I'm sorry, Scootaloo, but you need to be punished. This kind of behavior is not okay, okay?"

Finally, the orange pelted pegasus nodded. She didn't like it, but, she gave in. With a little rest, the pain in her head would vanish, and she'd be able to go back to her life. The punishment wouldn't be any fun to see through, but she wasn't going to get away from it. If even Pinkie Pie was going to come down on her, there was no way anypony else would let her slide...


	13. Twists and Turns

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.**

**Notes: Here we go!**

**Lost and Found**

**Chapter 13: Twists and Turns**

Pinkie Pie dashed into Sugarcube Corner and slid into the kitchen, sending several pots and pans flying. The timer rang just as she flipped the oven open and pulled out a cake. It needed iced, but this strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate affair would do nicely...

She smiled as she slid it onto the counter.

Her hooves were a little shaky, but she knew this would be part of making everything better. It filled her with a sort of trepidation that she had come to love over the many years of life. Throwing parties for ponies (and, now, griffons) was one of her favorite things in the world!

It was way better than waiting in the hospital!

Sure, it'd have to be a boring quiet hospital party, and they might not like their cake, but she could wait until they were out of the hospital to have the _real_ party!

She grinned. She'd be making a lot of cakes in the coming days! Gilda's egg would hatch soon, and the Cakes' baby pony would be born soon enough. There were a lot of special orders, too!

She snorted as she looked at the cake before her.

"I'm baking a cake...and the Cakes are baking a Cake too!" Pinkie Pie's laughter quickly filled the kitchen.

She flopped down onto her back, giggling until she was out of breath.

There was no better feeling than catching her breath after a good long laugh. Even if she had work to get back to, everything felt a little brighter after she could laugh all of her stress away...

Sure, it had been a stupid joke, but the humor just made her faster and more motivated. She wanted to finish that cake. Visitor's hours would be starting again soon enough, and Dashie would be ready to get back to the hospital to see them!

The mare did wonder where Luna had gotten off to, though, as she worked hard on preparing the cake.

She did need to bake some 'Thanks for the Important Advice and all the Help' cupcakes for one of her favorite winged unicorns!

But those would be going in right after the cookie cake that Fluttershy had wanted came out, and it'd be coming out right before the Super Special Apology Pie came out!

What good luck it was that the Cakes had four ovens back there, right?

At the center of the chaotic kitchen, Pinkie Pie was in perfect harmony. She was born to make ponies happy!

00000

Rainbow Dash stumbled out of the hospital, "Stupid egghead doctors!"

She kicked at the ground as she walked away. If they weren't doing a really good job with making sure her friend and the kid made it through this, she would have told them what she really thought. It had been hard enough not to knock that secretary's block off when she said, "Visiting hours are non-negotiable, Miss Dash, our patients need their rest."

What they needed was for her to be there and show her support...

She had ignored Gilda with all that had gone on with the kid, and she hadn't even taken the time to ask about what was going on with Scootaloo's family.

If she had shown up after school right on time, too, the kid might not have gotten into the fight and gotten hurt. Now, they both needed her to be there!

Scowling, she shook a hoof at the hospital before taking to the skies.

She needed to clear her head...

Work didn't matter. She called off.

Sleep didn't matter. Her eyes were heavy, but she knew she couldn't sleep now.

Food didn't matter. She had a drink of water before she headed out last night. She'd be all right until later.

Right now, she just needed speed.

Flying high above Ponyville, she threw herself into a swift dive. It wasn't steep, but she was glad for the height. The air rushing past her, the sun on her back, and the moisture as she burst through a cloud...

She couldn't forget, but, for about ten seconds, she could feel free.

Amethyst eyes shut for just a moment, and then she crashed out onto a cloud bank.

She moaned as she failing at picking herself up and off of the white and puffy landing pad, "So much for speed...maybe I'll just catch a little nap."

Yawning, Rainbow Dash let her eyes fall shut...

A gentle voice spoke as she started snoring, "It really will be a short nap, Rainbow Dash, but I couldn't let you just fly around like that. You'll wake up feeling much better than you do now."

With that, Princess Luna emerged from the cloud, "A perfect spell for this kind of situation. I'm glad I spent so much time researching spells with Starswirl the Bearded."

The winged unicorn spread her navy blue wings and flew off. Pinkie Pie was handling herself as well as she could, and Dash would be fine once the sleep spell wore off. All that was left over were the fillies.

That was where things got a little more difficult.

They couldn't just be fixed with a guiding hoof or a little magic.

She might have to just stand back and watch.

As much as it might hurt, she'd have to let the little ponies find their own way.

00000

Scootaloo couldn't really get to sleep. The nurses had sent Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie away. Gilda wasn't all that talkative, having fallen asleep a while after Dash left. The little pony now had all the time in the world to question her decisions. As much as that stubborn, angry part of her mind assured her that she had done right, its voice rang a bit hollow, now.

Even when they were gone (and Gilda silent), she felt the words of the mares in her life echoing in her head.

Worst of all, it could have been anypony else. When Silver Spoon touched her scooter, she had practically gone off on her...

Reality hit her like a baby carriage rolling downhill at top speed.

One of her most precious possessions had been smashed by that stupid Diamond Tiara.

Filthy Rich could buy her a new one, but...he could never really replace it...

_Windy Hopper smiled down at her as he presented it, "Your sister has one of her own, and it's just isn't fair that you don't get to ride as well, now that you're old enough."_

"_Really daddy? I can finally go riding?" She cried, bouncing up and down._

"_Of course, Scootaloo." He smiled, "Just remember to wear your helmet, and to keep an eye on Scarlet. Just because she's older doesn't mean she doesn't need help sometimes."_

_She nodded and started flapping her wings as hard as she could once her helmet was strapped on. Scarlet was out there, somewhere, and she wanted to show her big sister just how well she could ride!_

_She was off like a bolt from the blue!_

"_Wait, dear, don't go too fast!"_

_Scootaloo felt an exhilaration from the air blowing past her and the pleasant strain on her wings. It felt good to finally be doing this instead of just watching her sister or walking along with her parents. Her father's words fell lifelessly on the ground behind her, and she laughed. She could understand why Scarlet was so eager to get out after school..._

_Then, in a flash, she felt something bump her up into the air. She realized something was really wrong when she felt herself coming down and saw the scooter shooting away from her._

_She hit the ground hard, and tried to scream. She had no breath._

_All she knew was that she never wanted to ride that stupid scooter ever again..._

The pegasus snapped back to reality. Her entire world was tense and breathless for an instant...

Her breathing came back quickly, but the phantom pain made every breath a labor.

Scootaloo laid back on the mattress, glad that the tightness in her gut slowly vanished. A little bit of dread came over her as she remembered the past, though. It had been so clear...

Would she dream of it again if she closed her eyes?

She didn't want to. She wanted to forget...

_A beautiful, red maned white earth pony stood in the door way as they set up to go out,"Oh my daring and darling daughters, do you have everything you need? Helmets? Pads? Scooters? Are they all 'greased up and good to go', Windy?"_

"_Yes dear! No more squeaky wheels!" He finished looking over the scooters, hoofing them over to his two girls._

_It was silly, but the two girls smiled along with their mother. Scarlet had her mother's mane but her father's pelt. It was scruffier and a little dirtier than Scootaloo's..._

_And she didn't need wings to go just as fast as Scootaloo. She was a strong little earth pony._

"_All right, now, my marvelous maidens, don't go too far, and have fun with it!"_

"_No problem, mommy!" It was to be Scootaloo's first time really 'scooting' without her parents constantly over her shoulder!_

"_See ya later, mom!" It wasn't quite as special to Scarlet, but she still grinned as she kicked off with a rear hoof._

_They rode down the street at great speed. They were about even until the red maned filly kicked off hard, "Hey sis! Try to keep up!"_

_Scootaloo flapped her wings as hard as she could as her sister surged ahead! It made her wings burn to even try to keep the pace, and it seemed like every time that Scarlet fell back that she kicked again and gained even more speed than ever before!_

_They stopped near the edge of town, after a really long race. _

_Scootaloo had been looking at her sister's back the whole time. But, sometimes, she had almost passed her._

_"You're getting pretty good pretty fast, Scoots!" Scarlet grinned, "But you'll never be as fast as me, no matter how quick those wings flitter around."_

_Fighting the urge to pant for fresh air, she smiled, "You're the coolest, Scarlet..."_

"...she was the coolest. Even next to Rainbow Dash...she'd be the second coolest." Scootaloo smiled at the memory.

She was broken from her thoughts, however, from a pained whine. It was soft enough, but even from here she could still hear it. Woozy and worried, the young pegasus stumbled out of bed and across the hallway.

The whining stopped, raising into a frantic cry, "H-hey! Who's there?"

The familiar shrill voice made her muscles tense and her face scowl, but when she saw her foe's face, she gasped.

Diamond Tiara had her whole left eye covered over, and she was looking right past her with her other eye.

The scooter virtuoso stopped, waving her hoof right in front of the earth filly.

No response.

The silence caused her to cry out again, petulance oozing from her tone, "Hey! Don't ignore me!"

For a moment, it had been a little easy to forget that this pony had tormented her for a long time, but that voice set her right back to remembering the bitter past.

"Fine. What do you want?" Scootaloo barked back.

Diamond Tiara scowled as she recognized the voice, but that expression wobbled and fell away. When she finally did speak, it was barely above a whisper, "I...I can't find the bathroom."

Her tone was still so arrogant, but there were few crueler things she could imagine than leaving another pony in need of a bathroom. Besides, if anything did happen, that spoiled brat would tell anypony and everypony that she had been able to help, but didn't.

The orange pelted pony felt the anger from earlier bubbling up within her, but she grit her teeth as she answered, "It's right behind me."

"I can't see it, Blank Flank! Turn on the lights!"

"...the lights are broken. Just let me show you where it is." Roughly, she reached out and grabbed the little rich pony.

Though she recoiled at first, Diamond Tiara went along with it. She cared more about getting her business done. Thankfully, it was swift and clean.

Once she was back in bed, she spoke more confidently, "Blank Flank, tell the lazy hospital staff to get those lights fixed."

"Whatever." The hospital staff would fix something, but it'd probably be her eyes. Too bad she'd miss the look on that arrogant jerk's face when she realized it wasn't the lights that were out.

With that, Scootaloo stepped out into the hallway, only to be confronted by a big cake.

"Surprise!" Pinkie Pie cried, peeking out from behind the large confection. The cake was about as big as her head...maybe a little bigger, even!

"I don't know what you're doing up and about, but I'm really glad you're feeling well enough to be walking around!"

"Miss Pie." A nurse sternly shushed her, "Some of our patients are trying to sleep."

The littler of the patients she came to see was a little glad that someone brought it up. Just because she was feeling better didn't mean that her ears weren't ringing from Pinkie Pie's 'enthusiastic' volume.

The cheery earth pony quieted down, ushering the little pony back into her own room. Quickly, she produced a fold out table to set the cake on.

Even her whisper was pretty peppy, though, "I know there's a lot, but I really want you to get well, and leftovers just means there'll be more to share with other ponies!"

"And griffon." Gilda yawned, sitting up, "I'm starving for anything but hospital food."

"And griffon!" Pinkie Pie added happily, "Your eggy weggy needs its mommy to be healthy-wealthy!"

"I'll settle for being fed." She grunted.

Scootaloo took the first slice hoofed to her...just as Rainbow Dash ran in the door.

The slice looked like a nice slice of vanilla cake.

"Hey Dash, how's it going?"

"Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie brought cake!" She held out that slice, "I know vanilla's your favorite!"

Rainbow Dash grinned, though her happiness began to fade away, "Thanks kid...sorry I'm late. I..."

Scootaloo wanted to turn that frown upside down.

"You're just on time, Dash." Gilda assured her, "Besides, we know you got our backs."

That was enough.

"And here's a slice of chocolate for you, Scootaloo." The pegasus ace smiled at her.

It was probably the best slice of cake she had ever had. Even 'Doctor Surprise' enjoyed a slice when she came in to conduct examinations again. The good news that she might be leaving in a day or two came with her second slice of cake.

However, when Gilda's examination was done, Pinkie Pie suggested that she take a slice of strawberry cake across the hall.

Scootaloo stood up to object, but...she quickly realized it wouldn't be a big deal. Just give it to Diamond Tiara, hand her the fork, and give her the same talk about the lights being out. The doctors and nurses would fix her eyes soon enough, just like they were helping the little pegasus to get better.

"I was just about to check on her. I'm sure she'll be glad to talk to someone in her own age group." The cheery doctor waved for her to come along.

It was a quick trip across the hall to find Diamond Tiara sitting up in bed.

"Hi! I'm Goodly News, and I'm your doctor."

The patient turned her good eye toward the incoming ponies, "Why are you practicing medicine with the lights off?"

The white pegasus glanced down at the chart before her, nervously smiling, "I need to ask you a few questions."

"Do you know what your name is?"

"Pft. I'm Diamond Tiara."

"Okay, and you live at what address and with whom?"

"63 Cross Acres, Ponyville. I live with my dad, Filthy Rich."

"All right, now, I'm going to hold up a light, and I want you to follow it with your eye without moving your head."

"Okay? I'm ready."

The doctor sighed, "Well, it doesn't appear that you're suffering from any problems with memory and expression, but...well...the lights in this room are on, Diamond Tiara."

Those words knocked the air out of her.

For a few moments, she didn't respond, and even then her voice was soft, "What?"

"Your left eye needs some time to recover from surgery, but we don't know what's wrong with your right eye right now." She smiled, "I don't want you to worry. We have some of the finest medical professionals here, and we brought you cake!"

Diamond Tiara had just one question, and it was spoken gravely, "Can you get my dad?"

"Actually, I think he was waiting for you in our waiting room." The doctor smiled again, "Your friend brought you some cake...let me go get your daddy for you, okay?"

Scootaloo coughed as they were quickly left alone. Things felt a little more serious than the doctor made them sound; this was all going to be fixed really soon, right?

The silence stretched across the room, only disrupted by the chatter in the halls and the steps of nurses and doctors passing by.

"Um...here's your cake."

"I'm not hungry." That pink filly laid back on the bed.

The fuchsia maned filly just stood there, kicking at the floor. She noticed that Doctor Surprise left the chart laying at the foot of the bed.

_Patient Name: Diamond Tiara_

There was a bunch of information: address, basic description, and other things.

However, at the bottom, there were a lot of things written.

_Patient has suffered damage to her left eye from being struck during a hoof fight. We suspected she has suffered a bad head injury after tripping over a broken scooter. Surgery on her left eye seemed to go complication free, but future examination is necessary and specialists need to be consulted. She will need time to recover However, the patient has stable breathing and vital signs, and we think treatment will proceed successfully, but full recovery may take some time._

Below that was hastily scrawled:

_Patient is responsive, but seems to have no sight in even the uninjured eye. Must test further, and consult with parent and specialists._

Scootaloo remembered when the doctor told her she'd be out in a couple days. Part of her wanted to tell Diamond Tiara that it served her right!

The rest of her just felt sick. It had just been a little fight, but she had nearly died and her scooter was broken. Worst of all, Diamond Tiara was going to see again, and it was all her fault.

If she had just walked away, things would be better. There would be no pony worrying about her, and Filthy Rich wouldn't have to worry about his daughter. Neither her nor that arrogant bully would be hurt. She wouldn't have this guilt festering in her gut or this wooziness making her thoughts murky.

If she had just held back, she wouldn't be stuck here, hanging her head right now...


	14. An Apology from the Author

I'm sorry, but upon reviewing this story with a third party, I feel that this story has gone in the wrong direction and needs a rewrite. I'm sorry that I didn't get to the end with all of you and let those who were loyal down, but I need to take a step back and look at this from a different angle. I'm not giving up on writing, I'm just letting myself take a break between bells in the corner.

Expect to see a new story or a rewrite of this in the coming months.

You might even see the rewrite of this story on Equestria Daily if I really get my crap together, but I want to take this one step at a time.

I'm very sorry, but it's more important that I put out a good end-product than I continue one that has its failings.

I hope you all have pleasant days, and I hope that I write this story right, finish it properly, and you all can enjoy it even more!

With love and brohooves abound,

NoMane


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